The Other House
by lizardwriter
Summary: House has a niece who's just gotten a job at Princeton-Plainsboro, but they don't get along at all. It's better than the summary makes it out to be. Will be femslash, probably 13/OC. It's definitely AU. Please R&R. Disclaimer: I own nothing recognizable.
1. Chapter 1

Kat could barely move. The IV in her arm kept her awake while the illness drained her of energy. The combination left her with barely enough strength for her to feed herself. She'd been reduced to having a twenty-four hour nurse. It was humiliating. The nurse even had to help her get to the bathroom. She didn't understand. She'd finally been getting better after months of being bed-ridden and running a high fever, but then she'd gotten some secondary infection. They'd put her on antibiotics, but after the first batch didn't respond, they tried a different variety. Unfortunately for her, she'd been violently allergic to the second batch of antibiotics. As a result, she was back to being bed-ridden, only now she had an IV in her arm too. She'd gotten sick four months ago, and her mom had called her uncle who was some renowned diagnostician or something. He had been busy with a patient, so her parents had taken her to local doctors. A month in Kat still had no diagnosis and her symptoms were getting worse. Her fever would barely break. Again her mom had called her uncle, but something else had come up. He hadn't come. He hadn't helped. Another month and four specialists went by before they had a diagnosis: CMV. But the doctors thought that might only be part of the problem. Another few weeks of testing and the doctors gave up, saying there was nothing they could do. She'd just have to get better on her own. Take ibuprofen for the fever and the swollen lymph nodes. When the pain from the swelling organs got bad, go to the hospital, have them ultrasound her, run fluids and pain meds through her, and send her home. Three months of that routine before she'd felt any relief from the fever. Her mother kept trying her uncle, but he'd always had an excuse. Now, finally, he'd come to visit. Now that she'd missed four and a half months of school. Now that she had a partial diagnosis. Now that she was so dehydrated, that she'd sensed the fear in the doctors for her health. Now that, as far as she was concerned, they didn't need him.

"Greg, we called you three months ago." Her mother was saying. Their voices were mumbled, but Kat could still hear them.

"Helen, just tell me what the doctors said." Her uncle replied in a slightly bored and exasperated tone.

"CMV with complications. They've been worried about the fever, but, until this secondary infection, it had actually gone down." Her dad said in a calmer voice.

"How high was it?" Uncle Greg asked.

"Usually around 104˚." Her father answered. "But it got to 105.4˚ at its highest. Dehydration's been her biggest problem, though. The doctors…they didn't always have a positive outlook."

It seemed her uncle had no reply to that.

"If you'd taken her to Princeton Plainsboro, and paid her a little attention rather than blowing me off, maybe this would have been managed better. Maybe she wouldn't have caught this secondary infection. Maybe she wouldn't still be hooked up to an IV right now." Her mother, anger evident in her voice.

"CMV is unlikely to kill her. She's young, but not too young. She was healthy before this." Her uncle seemed to have found his voice again.

"Her immune system's pretty shot at the moment." Her dad said.

"Well, I would assume that that's why the opportunistic infection was able to take hold." Her uncle replied.

"Don't you take that tone with us! We're not some of your patients. We're family. Though if Kat had died, I swear to God I'd have cut you out of our lives completely!"

Kat tuned out. Her parents had thought about the possibility of her dying. Her head reeled at that thought. She felt the room begin to spin again and she closed her eyes. _This is all Uncle Greg's fault. If he'd helped from the beginning I bet I would never have gotten so sick._


	2. Chapter 2

"I never want to see another medical text in my life!" Kat dropped her bag by the door of the apartment she shared with her friend Jenny.

"So I should call those hospital administrators back and let them know that you've decided you don't want to be a doctor after all?" Jenny asked with a grin.

Kat's eyes widened in excitement. "Hospitals? What? Who?"

"Let's see. University Medical Center at Princeton, Lourdes Medical Center of Burlington County, Trenton Psychiatric Hospital (who are apparently unaware of your specialty), and Princeton-Plainsboro Hospital. Apparently everyone wants you if you're top of your class." Jenny said, passing Kat the notes she'd written down.

_Princeton Plainsboro…Why does that sound so familiar?_ "Yeah, because you're so unwanted at second in our class. When did St. Luke's Roosevelt offer you that job?" Kat retorted.

"Only a week ago." Jenny replied.

Kat grinned at her.

"So who're you gonna call first?" Jenny asked as Kat took a seat next to her on the couch.

"I don't know. University Medical Center at Princeton has a great Trauma Center. I'd love to work there. Still…I should call all of them. There's no harm in interviewing, right?"

"Right." Jenny confirmed.

Kat looked at her friend and stuck out her bottom lip in a pout. "I can't believe you're gonna abandon me here."

Jenny rolled her eyes and put her arms around Kat. "You'll be fine. I'll come visit you. You'll come visit me. You'll get some fantastic job and forget all about me."

Kat laughed. "Will not. And how am I supposed to make rent by myself and pay off all my loans?"

"You'll manage. I promise." Jenny replied. The two sat in contemplation for a minute, before Jenny remembered the earlier excitement. "Ok…Go! Go call! Now!" She ordered Kat, shoving her off of the couch towards the phone.

Kat rolled her eyes but the truth was she was excited too. She picked up the phone and started dialing.


	3. Chapter 3

"Nice to meet you. I'm Dr. Lisa Cuddy." A tall brunette said extending her hand. The handshake was firm. This woman was certainly in charge, no doubt about it.

"Kat McManus." Kat introduced herself.

"Please take a seat." Dr. Cuddy indicated the seat across from her as she sat down at her desk. Cuddy opened the file in front of her and began to flip through it. "I must say you have a very impressive resume. Graduated high school at sixteen, completed the pre-med requirements of your undergrad in three years. Dean's list every semester. Glowing recommendations from your med school professors. As a hospital administrator, I scout some of the most promising young doctors, and your file greatly impressed me."

"Thank you." Kat replied politely. She was slightly nervous, though she wasn't sure why. Her other two interviews had gone well.

"Your specialty is emergency medicine, is that right? Although I see here that Dr. Reilly says that you're quite an adept surgeon." Cuddy asked.

"Yes. I'd prefer to work in an ER though." Kat replied.

"We have an opening in our ER at the moment." Cuddy assured her. She continued flipping through the file. "I must admit. You seem to be more than qualified, despite your age. We could really use someone now, if you're interested."

Kat was floored. Had she just been offered a job? No way.

Something in the file caught Cuddy's eye. "Sorry, one quick question. It says here mother's maiden name is…"

"House." Kat confirmed.

"That wouldn't happen to be any relation to…"

"Cuddy how many times do I have to tell you to stay away from my patients? They'll never consent to anything if they know they have the right to be informed about it." Dr. Gregory House barged into Cuddy's office, ignoring the other young woman in the office.

Kat's breath caught. She hadn't seen him in seven years, but she still recognized his voice. She stood and turned to face him.

"House! I'm interviewing someone. Couldn't you just once pretend that you respected my authority at this hospital?" Cuddy asked in exasperation.

House ignored her. His eyes were fixed on Kat, and he seemed to have paled slightly. "Kathleen? What are you doing here?" He asked, his sarcastic tone gone.

"It's Kat, and, as Dr. Cuddy just told you, I'm interviewing." Kat replied curtly.

House nodded. "Sorry. I'll come back later." He turned and strode out of the office. He couldn't remember why he'd marched into Cuddy's office to begin with. Kat was his one regret. He'd ignored his sister's requests for help, assuming that she was simply an overprotective mother. It had turned out that Kat had been seriously ill. He'd screwed up. He'd failed her. His sister's daughter, and he'd overlooked her. He could have diagnosed her early. He could have brought her to Princeton-Plainsboro. He could have helped prevent her immune system from deteriorating so much. He could have kept her from getting the ear infection that set her recovery back. He could have prevented the bout of pneumonia that had struck after the ear infection. The one that had almost killed her. By that point, Kat's mother had been barely speaking to him, and he couldn't blame her. _And now she's here. Interviewing. At my hospital._ House didn't look back.

Kat sat down again, though her heart was racing faster now.

"I think I just got an answer to my last question." Cuddy said, also taking her seat.

"He's my uncle." Kat confirmed.

"I see. You seemed to have quite an effect on him. I can't remember the last time he left my office without putting up a fight." Cuddy said, seeing even more potential in the young woman sitting across from her.

"Let's just say he owes me…He doesn't like feeling guilty, but I manage to evoke that feeling in him." Kat grit her teeth. Suddenly, this interview seemed to have gone downhill. Now that Dr. Cuddy knew she was related to House there's no way she'd hire her. Kat knew enough to know that her uncle was as much of a pain in the ass at work as he was at family gatherings, which he rarely attended.

Cuddy's interest was piqued. "So you always have this effect on him?"

"You mean shutting him up and making him leave? I tend to." Kat was seriously considering ending the interview herself. She didn't really want to work with her uncle, after all. She really wasn't his biggest fan.

"Have you interviewed at other hospitals?" Cuddy asked.

"Yes. It's ok. I understand." Kat said, assuming that Dr. Cuddy was suggesting that she take a job at one of them.

"What's the highest salary they offered you?" Cuddy asked.

"$105,000. But…" Kat was confused now.

"I'll match that, and add in an extra five thousand a year if you help me keep House in line." Cuddy said.

"What?" Kat was surprised to say the least. She had certainly not expected that.

"You'd basically work in the ER, you'd just check in on House's cases, keep him in check." Cuddy explained. If Kat could lessen the burden of House just a little, then she'd be worth the extra money.

"I don't want to work for my uncle." Kat said definitively.

"You wouldn't. You'd work for me." Cuddy replied.

Kat hesitated. Her student loans weren't going to pay themselves. Neither was the rent. The extra money would certainly help.

"Let me just take you down to the ER and show you around, introduce you to some of the staff and House's team." Cuddy offered, sensing Kat's reluctance.

Kat nodded. As she followed Cuddy out of her office and down to the ER, she took in her surroundings. The hospital was nice, exactly the type of establishment she should jump at the chance to be employed by. It had a good reputation. The facilities were obviously up to date. From the bustle in the hallways, it was clear that the hospital was fairly busy. The only drawback was House.

Dr. Cuddy spotted Dr. Cameron across the ER and motioned for her to approach. "Kat, I'd like you to meet Dr. Cameron. Dr. Cameron, this is Dr. McManus."

Kat shook the hand of the blonde that greeted her. "Nice to meet you."

"You too. Are you taking a job at the hospital?" Cameron asked her.

"I'm trying to convince her to take the open position in the ER." Cuddy explained.

"Well we'd love to have you. We're pretty overworked at the moment, being shorthanded and all." Cameron said, glancing around at the packed ER.

"You get a lot of good traumas?" Kat asked.

"We certainly get our fair share. And the best part about working here is that we have the most up to date equipment. That definitely helps things run smoothly." Cameron replied.

Kat nodded. She had to admit that it sounded good.

Cuddy tapped her elbow. "Let me introduce you to some other people." Kat nodded again and followed Cuddy out of the ER, waving briefly at Cameron as they left.

Kat followed curiously as Cuddy popped her head in door after door, apparently searching for someone specific. Finally she opened a door fully and held it open, indicating that Kat should enter.

"Kat, meet Dr. Foreman. Foreman, this is Dr. McManus. She's interviewing for the ER position, but I think she might also be a good asset for the team from time to time." Cuddy introduced them. Turning to Kat she explained, "Dr. Foreman works for House."

Kat nodded and held out her hand which the other doctor shook. "You want to work for House?" He asked, surprised why Cuddy would consider adding anybody else to their already full team.

"Not really." Kat replied honestly.

Foreman became even more confused. He turned to Cuddy looking for an explanation.

"She wouldn't work for House. She just might help out the team from time to time. She'd work for me though." Cuddy explained.

Kat was slightly relieved that Cuddy hadn't revealed her family connection to House. If she was going to work at the hospital, she wanted as few people as possible knowing that the cantankerous doctor was her uncle.

Foreman still seemed puzzled, but accepted what Cuddy had said without further questions.

"Do you know where Taub, Kutner, and Thirteen are?" Cuddy asked.

Foreman raised an eyebrow. "Since when do you call her Thirteen?"

Cuddy rolled her eyes at herself and sighed. "I've been listening to House too much. Do you know where they are?"

"Last I saw, Taub and Kutner were in the clinic and Thirteen was running labs." Foreman replied.

"Thanks." Cuddy called over her shoulder, leading Kat out of the room.

"Thirteen?" Kat asked as they walked down the hallway.

"Dr. Hadley. House assigned all potential candidates numbers when he was interviewing them, and hers stuck." Cuddy explained.

"Ah. I see." Kat said. _Sounds like something he'd do. Wouldn't want him to get attached to anyone, actually learn their names._ She thought bitterly.

Cuddy lead Kat into the clinic and introduced her to a short, balding man and a taller, Indian man. "Dr.'s Taub and Kutner. Gentlemen, meet Dr. McManus. Hopefully she'll be starting work in the ER soon."

"Nice to meet you." Taub said in a tone that said he was busy and had better things to do with his time.

Kutner extended his hand and she shook it. "Very nice to meet you." He said with a smile, clearly flirting.

Kat smiled back. "Same."

"So you want to work here?" Kutner asked.

Cuddy turned to Kat with a hopeful look on her face. Kat squirmed slightly under the gaze of the two of them. "I'm considering it."

Cuddy tugged lightly on Kat's arm, and Kat extracted her hand from Kutner's, as he had failed to let go.

"Dude, she's hot." Kat heard Kutner say behind her.

Kat smiled to herself.

Cuddy lead her down a hallway and into a small room with a centrifuge to the right and what appeared to be extremely up to date medical testing equipment.

"Wow. Nice." Kat said, scanning the equipment. There were machines she hadn't even gotten to use during her residency because the hospital she'd been at hadn't had them.

"We like to have the latest medical technology at Princeton-Plainsboro." Cuddy said as she spotted Dr. Hadley bending over a Petri dish. "Dr. McManus, meet Dr. Remy Hadley. Dr. Hadley this is Dr. Kat McManus."

Kat tore her eyes away from the medical equipment and her breath caught as she laid eyes on Dr. Hadley for the first time. She was stunningly gorgeous. Long, flowing brown hair, fair complexion, and piercing blue eyes. Those blue eyes captivated her.

Remy looked up from her Petri dish, expecting a quick hello before she could get on with her work. Instead she found herself looking at one of the most attractive women she'd ever met. She had, dark reddish brown hair with stunning green eyes, and perfectly kissable lips. Remy couldn't tear her eyes away from the green eyes staring back at her. "I take it your Irish?" She said eventually, holding out her hand.

Kat grinned. "Just a tad. My dad's a first generation immigrant. My mom's half Irish anyway. Nice to meet you." Kat took Remy's hand and she felt her heart leap. _I could work with her._ She thought to herself.

Remy smiled back. Kat's smile was infectious. Remy still couldn't tear her eyes away from the woman in front of her. "I'm half Irish myself. Do you work here?"

Kat shrugged. "Yeah. I think I'm going to."

Cuddy smiled. "I'm glad to hear that." She noted curiously to herself that the two women in front of her were still holding hands, though neither seemed aware of the fact.

The sound of Cuddy's voice broke through the spell that seemed to have descended on the two women. They broke eye contact and pulled their hands back to their sides.

Kat's face flushed. "I admit. I really like what you've shown me. Despite certain facts, if that offer's still on the table, I'd like to take it."

"Sure." Cuddy said, eyes bright. "Let's head back to my office and sort out the details."

Kat smiled and nodded. She turned her attention back to Remy, who glanced down, trying to hide the fact that she still hadn't torn her eyes away from Kat. "Nice to meet you."

"Yeah. You too. Sounds like I'll be seeing you around." Remy replied. _I have to get to know this girl!_

Kat grinned. "Sounds like." She said with a wave as she followed Cuddy out of the room. _Wow!_ Was all she could think as she worked down the hallway with Cuddy. Something deep inside her knew that she wanted to become friends with that girl. She didn't know why or how, just that she felt inexplicably attracted to her on a level that went beyond the physical despite that Kat'd only met her briefly. "She works for House?"

"Yes. She, Taub, Kutner, and Foreman all do." Cuddy confirmed.

"How's he treat them?" Kat inquired curiously.

Cuddy paused before responding, pursing her lips. "Hopefully with your presence here, he'll treat them a little better."

Cuddy hadn't really answered her question, but Kat read between the lines. Her uncle treated them like crap. She frowned. Could she really change that? She doubted it.

They entered Cuddy's office and Cuddy closed the door behind them, then headed to her desk and began to search through her files looking for the paperwork that Kat needed to fill out. Kat took a seat and glanced through the glass doors towards the ER. This was a good job. She'd be stupid to pass it up. She'd just have to try to avoid Uncle Greg, or House as Cuddy kept calling him, as much as possible.

"Here. I need you to fill this out and then we can discuss the specifics of your contract. I'll run it past the board tomorrow, have our lawyers draw up the official contract and you can sign it on Monday when you start." Cuddy said passing Kat some paperwork.

Kat took the papers and began to fill them out. "So I start this Monday?" It was only four days away after all.

"We need someone in the ER now." Cuddy replied.

Kat nodded as she continued filling out her information. After what seemed like hours but in actuality was only probably about twenty minutes, she finished the numerous packets of information she needed to read and fill out. Cuddy had turned to some of her other paperwork so Kat cleared her throat softly to get the older woman's attention.

"You done?" Cuddy asked looking up.

"Yeah. Do you mind if, before we discuss details, I run to the bathroom real quick?" Kat asked.

"Sure. No problem. It's down the hall on your right."

"Thanks." Kat left the room and let her eyes scan her surroundings as she headed to the bathroom. She started envisioning bustling down the hallways towards a major trauma in the ER and saving lives in the very building she was standing in. _I could work here._ She started feeling more positively about the idea.


	4. Chapter 4

House had been lurking down the hall from Cuddy's office, partially to avoid work, and partially to see when his niece left. He had to make sure Cuddy didn't hire her. There was no way he could work to his brilliant full potential with her around constantly reminding him of his failure in judgment. He burst into Cuddy's office, letting the door slam against the wall just to make his entrance that much more dramatic. "Please tell me you didn't hire her!" House started. "You know not everyone with the name House is as brilliant as I am." He slumped down in the seat across the desk from Cuddy.

"Her name isn't House, it's McManus, and I _did_ hire her as a matter of fact. She'd be a very valuable asset to our ER and we need the help now." Cuddy replied with an exasperated sigh.

"Being related to me doesn't make her a valuable asset Cuddy." House said in a snarky tone.

"House, she was the top of her class, she's accelerated through all of her academics, she comes with stellar recommendations. That's why she'll be a valuable asset to this hospital. Now, if that's all…"

"Did she use my name to get the interview?" House interrupted her.

"Trust me: that's the last thing I'd ever do. I don't actually consider being related to you to be a bonus in any hiring situation." Kat said softly though with a clear hint of malice from behind him. Like she'd really consider even for a second dropping his name to get a job. With his reputation she'd probably not even be let in the door of a hospital.

House turned to look at her, mouth agape. "I…Didn't you…" He turned back to Cuddy. "I thought she left."

"Hate to burst your bubble. I just had to pee." Kat replied.

"And she definitely didn't use your name to get the interview. As a matter of fact, she didn't try to get the interview at all. I recruited her. Like I said, her record speaks for itself." Cuddy sighed, again. She found that she did that a lot when House was around.

"Right." House stood, surprised to find that he wobbled a bit as he did so. "Well…I'll just…" He left the office without completing his sentence. Having Kat here was not going to be good for him.

Cuddy turned apologetically to Kat. "I'm sorry. He can be…"

"I know." Kat replied simply.

"Right." Cuddy took a deep breath, examining the young woman's face. She looked neither happy nor upset. She didn't even look surprised. She merely looked like she'd expected nothing else, and she'd resigned herself to that fact. Cuddy indicated the chair that House had just vacated, plastering a smile on her face. "Shall we discuss the details of your job?"

Kat mimicked Cuddy's forced smile. "Sure." She replied, taking a seat.

"Alright, so you'd basically work in the ER. I would be your boss. House gets about one case a week, or less. Rather, that's what he takes. I would ask that you would check up on his cases from time to time. At least once a day when he has a case. If things aren't going well and he seems out of hand, if you could just stop in and guide things in the right direction, you'll have the authority to overrule something that you think is too risky, and from what I've seen, he won't argue. If things go smoothly, I might even be able to push the board for a bit more money." Cuddy explained.

Kat perked up a little at the last comment. More money meant she could pay off her debts that much quicker. "Sounds like I'd be seeing an awful lot of my uncle."

"I'll try to keep it as limited as possible, but I'm sorry, I can't pass up the opportunity to have some sort of control over Dr. House. You could really make things more bearable for his staff as well." Cuddy said.

Kat nodded. _His staff…which includes Thirteen…Dr. Hadley…_ "Right. No. I agreed that I'd help. I don't know how much good I'll actually do, but as long as I don't actually have to answer to Uncle Greg, I'm willing to try."

Cuddy stifled a small laugh.

"What?" Kat asked, slightly confused.

"Nothing…I just can't picture House as 'Uncle Greg.' It just sounded strange. Alright well I think we've worked everything out, though I'm sure there will be some small details that we can work out on Monday. I'm looking forward to working with you. It was nice to meet you Dr. McManus."

"You too, Dr. Cuddy. Thank you for giving me this opportunity. See you Monday." Kat replied, standing up and making her way out of Cuddy's office.

Cuddy leaned back in her chair and watched the young woman go. If this worked out how she hoped it would, life might actually get manageable at the hospital.

Kat pulled out her phone as she walked down the hallway. She had to tell Jenny. She'd promised to let her know as soon as she got a job. She began texting her friend, and ignoring her surroundings. This turned out to be stupid in a bustling hospital full of people. She walked straight into somebody, managing to knock files out of their hands and all over the floor. "I'm so sorry. I wasn't watching where I was going." Kat apologized, bending down to gather up the papers she'd knocked down.

"It's fine. Don't worry about it. I wasn't exactly looking where I was going either."

Kat recognized the voice and looked up into the smiling face of Dr. Remy Hadley. "Thirteen, right? Oh…er…sorry…I meant Dr. Hadley. Sorry…I heard the other doctors call you Thirteen."

"It's no problem. I've actually kinda started to like the nickname." Remy replied, stooping to help Kat pick up the files.

"How'd you get it, if you don't mind me asking?" Kat inquired.

"Ha…well…When I first started working here, Dr. House assigned all of us numbers. There was like a room full of us that he was considering for his team, and he didn't want to bother learning the names. Everybody else either got fired or got new nicknames, but I guess people didn't know much about me, and to be honest I was happy to leave it like that, so I got stuck with my number." Remy explained. She stood simultaneously to Kat and took the files from her. "Thanks, by the way."

"No problem. That Dr. House…I've heard he's quite an ass." Kat said, feigning not knowing him. If working here was going to be manageable, she needed people to not know she was related to him for as long as possible.

"He certainly can be." Remy affirmed.

"Right…Well, I should go." Kat said, becoming slightly awkward as she realized that she'd been staring at Remy again.

"Ok." Remy reluctantly started to walk away, but turned back. "Oh, so did you take the job officially?"

"Yeah. I, um…I should start Monday assuming Cuddy runs everything by the board ok."

"Great. Then I'll see you around then." Remy smiled, biting her lip slightly as she turned and walked away, glancing back over her shoulder for another quick glance of Kat before she left the hospital.


	5. Chapter 5

"EEEEEEEEE!!!!!" Jenny squealed excitedly. "Congratulations!!! Ok. We're definitely going out tonight. Don't even try to fight it. I don't care if you're tired. We need to celebrate!"

Kat grinned. "Ok. Fine. I'm not gonna try to argue with you. I'll only lose anyway."

"Probably." Jenny nodded, wrapping her friend in a big hug. "So…Tell me about the job! Come on!"

"Well…Basically I'd be working in the ER. I'd be a trauma doctor." Kat said.

"That's awesome! Just what you wanted!" Jenny couldn't contain her smile. She was so happy for her friend. "Wait…What's with the basically? Is there a complex part of the job?"

"You could say that." Kat grit her teeth. She hadn't even told Jenny that her uncle was Dr. Gregory House, famous, or possibly infamous, diagnostician. "You've heard of Dr. House, right?"

"Oh, hell yeah! You're working for him? That's incredible!"

"NO! No. I…He's kinda…my uncle." Kat said.

"What??? You're related to Dr. House? No way! No wonder you're a medical genius! It's in your blood!"

"No. Trust me. I didn't get anything from him. Being his niece is not a good thing. Except that, it turns out he works at Princeton-Plainsboro."

"Ok. And…" Jenny prompted. She didn't get it. Why was being related to Dr. House a bad thing?

"And he's kind of an asshole who apparently needs a babysitter from time to time. I kind of tend to have this effect on him of making him…less argumentative I guess. When Dr. Cuddy, she's going to be my boss, saw that in person, she offered me the job on the spot, with extra money if I'd help keep him in line. There-in lies the complexity of my new job." Kat elaborated.

"So you're his babysitter?" Jenny asked.

"I guess. Kind of. Which sucks. Because he's really not my favorite uncle."

"Yeah. I kinda gathered, babe. And why might this be?" Jenny probed.

"Ok, well you remember how I told you I decided to go into medicine after I got really sick as a kid?"

"Yeah, and you were sick forever and ever and you almost died, from the sounds of it more than once." Jenny continued the story. She'd heard it before.

"Exactly. Well, my mom, Uncle Greg's sister, called him early on asking for his help and he kept refusing, thinking that she was being an overprotective mother or something, and he basically blew us off. So I had no diagnosis for months despite being the niece of a famous diagnostician. And as you pointed out, that led to me almost dying a couple of times…Let's just say that I can hold a grudge."

"And rightly so!" Jenny felt indignant for her friend. "What an ass. Family comes first."

"Yeah, well he never got that memo apparently. Besides…He's not family. I mean he is by blood, but you make your own family." Kat said.

"How true. Like you! You're my family!" Jenny hugged her friend again.

Kat smiled. "Exactly." She frowned after a second's thought. "Which is why I can't believe you're ditching me and going to New York."

"Sorry babe. It's my dream city and my dream job."

"I know. I know."

"Look, let's just go out tonight, have some fun, get a little drunk, reminisce about old times, and not think about stupid uncles, or me leaving, or job complications. Deal?" Jenny held out her hand.

Kat shook it. "Deal."


	6. Chapter 6

Kat and Jenny met up with two other med school friends at the bar. Of the four of them, it turned out that Kat was the only one staying in the area. "You're all ditching me!" Kat complained.

"That's just cause we have the utmost confidence that you don't need us around. Watch, soon you'll have a gazillion friends at your new job and you'll have forgotten all about us!" Jenny replied.

"Yeah. We'll come back to visit, and you'll look at us like 'Who are you again?'." Claudia added.

Kat rolled her eyes. "Yeah right! More like I'll miss you guys horribly because at work I'll be so busy that I won't have time to make friends and then I'll be so exhausted that when I come home I won't have the energy to go out and make new friends."

"Is that the future that awaits us in our new cities?" Asked Eliza.

"No. Of course not. It's just I won't have you guys to drag me out anymore. Who's gonna motivate me to go out? You three are self-motivators. You all know that I need a little shove from time to time." Kat pointed out.

"Ok…That's true. Although I might change the 'little' to a big shove." Jenny conceded with a grin.

Kat rolled her eyes and playfully shoved her friend. "Like that?"

Jenny laughed. "Yeah. Something like that."

"Kat, I gotta say. I'm not so sure about your lack of potential to make friends." Claudia said.

"Oh no?" Kat asked.

"Nope." Claudia sounded quite sure of herself.

"How come?" Kat asked again.

"Maybe because there's some hot brunette who keeps looking at you." Claudia nodded towards the bar.

Kat was tempted to look, but she really didn't want to deal with some guy coming over and hitting on her. She just wanted to enjoy the time with her friends while they were still there. "Thanks, but no thanks. You know I don't swing that way."

"Just cause I'm straight, doesn't mean I can't tell when a girl's hot." Claudia said.

"What?" Kat turned around and saw a familiar pair of blue eyes that made her heart flutter slightly. She smiled at Thirteen and waved her over. "Hey."

"Hey yourself. I didn't want to interrupt you with your friends." Remy said.

"No. It's fine. Join us, unless you're here with someone." Kat replied.

"Nope…Just needed a drink after work. House was…kinda a pain in the ass today." Remy sighed, pulling up a stool to the table the four friends had been sitting.

"I take it you two know each other." Eliza said, hinting that introductions were in order.

"Yeah…Well kinda. We just met today." Kat said. "This is Dr. Hadley. She works at Princeton-Plainsboro."

"Call me Remy." Remy said, extending her hand to first Jenny, then the other two.

"This is my soon to be ex-roommate, Jenny, and these are two of our friends from med school, Eliza and Claudia." Kat introduced them.

"Nice to meet you. Why soon to be ex?" Remy asked Jenny.

"The Big Apple is calling my name. I've got a job at St. Luke's Roosevelt in the pediatric ICU." Jenny explained.

"Wow. That's a good hospital. And a tough job." Remy replied appreciatively.

"Yeah. But so worth it. Keeping kids alive…that's keeping the future alive." Jenny said.

"True. Very true. Well good luck." Remy responded sincerely.

"Thanks." Jenny turned to Kat and raised an eyebrow.

_Uh oh. She definitely wants to talk to me now._ Kat thought. "Would you excuse us for one second?" Kat asked the group, grabbing Jenny by the arm and dragging her off towards the bathroom. Once they were in there Jenny grinned at her with a mischievous look on her face and her eyebrow still raised.

"What?" Kat asked.

"She's cute. No. I take it back. She's downright hot. Did you just forget to mention her when you told me about your interview?" Jenny probed.

"No. I told you that I met all of the people who worked for House." Kat tried to defend herself feebly.

"Yeah, and you just failed to mention that one of them was a smokin' hot brunette who you clearly seem to have made an impression on, and from the blush starting on your face, who's made an impression on you." Jenny looked at her friend skeptically.

"Oh shut up. We just chatted briefly, and then bumped into her on my way out of the hospital. Literally. I knocked all of her folders out of her hands and had to help her pick them up. That's all. That's probably why I made an impression."

"Well, she doesn't seem to hold a grudge. I like her. She picked up on the ex detail and she asked me questions directly and was suitably impressed about my new job." Jenny declared.

"Well, good, but she's just someone I work with." Kat replied.

"You mean, someone who works for your uncle." Jenny corrected.

"Oh. Yeah. About that. Could you possibly pretty pretty please refrain from telling her that House is my uncle? I really really really don't want that getting around the hospital." Kat pleaded.

"Sure. No problem." Jenny replied, knowing her friend was serious. She could understand it too, from what she'd managed to coax out of Kat earlier that day about her uncle. "Well, at the very least it seems like we're not leaving you friendless here."

"I don't even know her. We just work together." Kat said.

"And you don't want to be her friend?" Jenny raised her eyebrow again.

"No. I do…I just…Ergh…You know how I told you that one time, that sometimes I just see someone and that's all it takes? I know I want to be their friend then and there?"

"Yeah. She was one of those?" Jenny asked.

"Yep. And you know how it freaks me out kinda when that happens." Kat said.

"Yes. I do. Because you like to have a logical explanation for everything, but some things like friendship and love just aren't logical. Deal with it. Now let's get back out there. And let me remind you that I was one of those people that you just knew you wanted to be friends with and ta da, here I am, your best friend. Trust your instincts. Come on." Jenny took Kat's arm and dragged her back towards the table where Remy and the other two were chatting pleasantly.

Kat had to admit that Jenny had a point.

"Sorry about that." Jenny apologized as they sat back down.

"Everything ok?" Claudia inquired.

"Yeah. Everything's just fine." Jenny assured them, with a wink at Kat who rolled her eyes.

Kat glanced at Remy who was giving her a questioning look. She shook her head. "It was nothing. I just had to ask her something."

Remy nodded. "Ok. Well, I should probably leave you to your friends. I hear that all of them are leaving soon, so I imagine that you want to enjoy them before they leave." Remy made to stand up.

"No, no, no. Don't be silly. We'll share her." Jenny insisted.

Eliza and Claudia nodded. "Stay." Eliza added. "She's not that good company anyway. It'll be nice to have someone else to converse with."

Remy laughed as Kat glared at her friend. "Did I say I was going to miss you? I meant that I couldn't wait until you left."

Jenny and Claudia joined into the laughter.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. I seem to remember you whistling a slightly different tune earlier. Something about how you weren't gonna be able to make any new friends and no one would be there to drag you out to socialize." Eliza shot back.

"I'll drag you out." Remy offered, then blushed slightly. _Why did I say that? I just met her today! What the hell am I doing?_ "You know…if you're not missing them too much." She tried to cover lamely.

Kat looked at her in surprise. She felt her stomach flip a little. _She's just being nice. Don't read too much into it. She's just being nice because all of your other friends are leaving town. She's probably got her own life and friends and doesn't need any more._

Jenny's elbow digging into her side broke her train of thought. Kat looked at her friend, who's eyebrow was raised once again.

"I'm glad there'll be someone around to keep an eye on Kat." Jenny said to Remy with a smile and a sidelong wink at Kat.

"I am a big girl. I do know how to take care of myself." Kat insisted.

Jenny giggled and put an arm around her. "Of course you do, babe. You just need a shove in the right direction socially from time to time."

Kat groaned as Claudia and Eliza giggled. Kat turned an imploring gaze to Remy. "Help?"

Remy smothered a slight giggle. "Don't know how. Sorry."

Kat found Remy's smile contagious, and soon found herself grinning too. "Ok, so can we talk about something besides my social life, possibly?"

"Fine." Jenny relented. "So Remy, how long have you worked at Princeton-Plainsboro?"

"This is my second year there." Remy responded.

"What do you do there?" Claudia asked.

"Some clinic hours, some work in the ER, but mostly I work for Dr. House diagnosing mysterious illnesses." Remy explained.

"_The_ Dr. Gregory House?" Eliza asked, clearly impressed.

"Yeah. That'd be the one." Remy nodded. "He's a great doctor, but kind of a sucky boss."

"His reputation precedes him, but still…That must be a fascinating job!" Claudia said.

Kat clammed up. She didn't want to say anything that might give away that she knew more than she was telling regarding House. She glanced at Jenny, who shot her a sympathetic look.

"It's pretty interesting a lot of the time." Remy agreed.

"So Remy, did these two tell you where they're going to be working soon?" Jenny asked, indicating Eliza and Claudia.

"Yeah. I have to say I'm really impressed. Johns Hopkins and the Touro Rehab center in New Orleans. Sounds really awesome." Remy acknowledged the accomplishments.

Eliza and Claudia beamed slightly. Kat relaxed as the conversation steered further away from both her social life and her uncle. The five of them began to discuss med school and college and the conversation flowed freely. Kat was amazed at how well Remy fit into her group of friends. Within a half an hour it seemed like she'd known them for ages. Kat kept finding that her eyes were continuously drawn to Remy and her stunning blue eyes. There was something about those eyes that captivated Kat. She'd always been an eye person. There were times when she believed that she could see a person's soul through their eyes. There was something true about eyes; something honest. And Remy's eyes were gorgeous, but it was more than that. There was clearly something behind them. They were thoughtful, not vacant. Remy's eyes glanced into Kat's and Kat looked down sheepishly. _Stare less, talk more._ She told herself.

The evening continued on with a cheerful atmosphere. Before they knew it, it was midnight.

"Oh shit. I should really go. House is gonna be less than thrilled if I'm late for work. Which is strange considering how often he's late for work. It was really great meeting all of you." Remy said as she stood up from the table. Everyone else followed suit.

"Yeah. We should probably get going too." Jenny acknowledged, glancing at her watch.

Eliza and Claudia gave Remy a quick hug goodbye, but Jenny wanted a word with her. She walked with her towards the exit of the bar, giving Kat the one second sign with her hand.

Jenny stopped her by the door. "Look, all kidding aside, it was really nice to meet you. Kat's…she's gonna need a friend when we leave, and you seem really great. Could you just…keep her company from time to time."

Remy's eyes widened. "Um. Yeah. Sure. I'm actually really glad she got the job. I have to admit that I haven't actually been all that great on the making friends front since I started working for House, and it really was nice to just hang out with all of you tonight. With Kat around, maybe I'll get to be more social too."

"Thanks." Jenny smiled and gave Remy a hug. "Hopefully we'll see you around before we all move away. Oh, and sorry if we overwhelmed you with all of the questions. We're a curious bunch."

"No. It was fine. And I'd really like to see you guys again." Remy said, her eyes scanning the bar for Kat. She definitely had to say goodbye to her. Her eye's met the piercing green ones she'd been looking for. As Jenny pulled away, Remy beckoned Kat over.

Kat found herself nervous as she approached Remy. She stood awkwardly in front of her for a second, before reaching forward to give her a quick hug. "It was really nice seeing you again."

"Yeah. You too. You're friends are really great."

Kat glanced back at the three in question. "Yeah. They can be. They like to torment me a little though."

Remy laughed. "Yeah. I kinda noticed."

"Hey, what did Jenny want?" Kat couldn't contain her curiosity. Jenny had taken on the unofficial role of protective big sister in Kat's life, and from time to time she had been known to take it a tad far. Kat wanted to make sure that this wasn't one of those times.

"Nothing really. Just wanted to make sure I wasn't overwhelmed with all of the questions I got asked tonight." Remy replied, realizing that betraying Jenny's confidence was probably not the best way to get into her good graces. Remy could tell how close Jenny and Kat were and figured that if Jenny had a problem with her, then Kat would probably develop one.

"Oh. Ok. Were you? Overwhelmed, I mean." Kat asked.

"No. It really wasn't that bad." Remy replied with a smile. "So I guess I'll see you soon?"

Kat nodded. "Yeah. See you." Kat started to head back to her friends, but stopped, and spur of the moment asked, "Hey, what's your number?" as she pulled out her phone. It was so unlike her to ask for somebody's number that she surprised herself even.

"Oh. Right. Umm…Here. " Remy took Kat's phone and programmed her number into it. "Give me a call sometime. I'd like to hang out again…with…um...all of you." _Yeah, great. Stutter and sound like a blithering idiot Remy. Good job!_

"I will." Kat smiled and bit her lip as she watched Remy walk away.

"So…she seems nice." Jenny said from right behind her. Kat jumped slightly.

"Shit! It's not nice to sneak up on people." Kat scolded.

"I wasn't sneaking. Was I sneaking?" Jenny turned to Claudia who shook her head.

Kat observed her three friends who all seemed to have the same wicked grin on their faces. "What?" Kat demanded.

"Nothing." Jenny replied, attempting to look innocent. As Kat and Remy had been saying goodbye, she and the others had observed them. They'd all seen something that Kat was apparently oblivious to. Kat was always like that. Kat had an amazing ability to ignore what was right in front of her. Jenny, Eliza, and Claudia, had all seen definite sparks. There was no point in telling Kat now, though. She'd deny it 'til she was blue in the face. _Kat'll figure it out eventually._


	7. Chapter 7

Kat stood for a second once she got out of her car and just looked up at Princeton-Plainsboro hospital. Dr. Cuddy had called her Friday evening to inform her that the board had given her the official stamp of approval. Kat officially had a job. And here she was, standing outside of the hospital. As soon as she walked through the doors she'd be starting a new life. Kat had to admit that she was nervous, not that she'd admitted that to Jenny this morning when she'd left the apartment. Here and now, moment of truth, Kat found her feet inexplicably glued to the asphalt in the parking lot.

Across the parking lot Remy got out of her car, reluctant to start another week of being constantly harassed by House. She spotted Kat standing by her car and smiled. She remembered being somewhat intimidated on her first day, though she'd put on a touch, nonchalant exterior to hide that fact. Remy watched Kat for a minute before she persuaded herself to go over and talk to her.

"It can be kinda daunting, huh?" Remy said from behind Kat, who jumped, startled.

"Oh. Um. Hi. Yeah. I guess. It's more that I just don't know what to expect." Kat smiled meekly at Remy, embarrassed to have been caught just staring at the building.

"It's the ER. Expect lots of fun trauma's to keep you busy and then several dozen people overreacting to minor illnesses." Remy said.

Kat laughed. "Yeah. Those happen everywhere."

Remy's soft laugh joined Kat's. "Definitely." Remy stood looking at the hospital next to Kat for a minute more, then looked back at Kat. Remy gently hooked her arm through Kat's. "Come on. Let's go."

Kat smiled at Remy. Somehow that small gesture of Remy taking her by the arm was exactly what she needed. She felt a sizeable amount of her nervousness melt away as she headed into the hospital, arm in arm with Remy.

"So are you going to talk to Cuddy first, or just going straight to the ER?" Remy asked.

"Cuddy said to find Dr. Cameron and have her show me the ropes today." Kat replied.

"Show you the ropes? Didn't Jenny say you were the top of your class?" Remy countered.

Kat blushed. "Yeah but…You know…I need to see how everything's run _here_."

"You know for a doctor, you don't have nearly enough ego." Remy teased. "Most doctor's wouldn't think they needed to learn anything."

Kat laughed. She knew her Uncle had quite a reputation for being an egomaniac. Unfortunately the frequency with which he was right only fed his ego. Kat, trying to further distance herself from him, was modest to a fault, or so claimed her friends.

"Don't think you'll have to look very hard to find Cameron." Remy said, nodding in the direction of the blonde doctor who was examining a patient's charts.

"Thanks." Kat said, pulling her arm away from Remy's and heading towards Dr. Cameron.

After a moment's hesitation, Remy followed after her. This turned out to be a good decision, when a few steps away from Cameron, Kat's confident stride faltered and she stopped dead. Remy nudged her with her shoulder, urging her forward. "Hey Cameron."

"Thirteen." Cameron nodded at her brunette colleague, then spotted Kat. "Dr. McManus, right? Cuddy said you'd be starting today." Cameron extended her hand.

"Call me Kat." Kat said, taking the hand Cameron had offered and shaking it firmly, attempting not to let her nervousness show.

"Relax. She doesn't bite." Remy whispered in her ear, sensing Kat's tension.

Kat glanced sideways at Remy, suppressing a smile.

Cameron briefly turned her attention back to Thirteen, curious as to what the brunette could have whispered into their new colleague's ear. It seemed like they already knew each other. "Do you need anything?" She asked Thirteen.

Remy looked surprised. "Me? No. Just heading upstairs." Remy turned back to Kat. "Good luck, not that you'll need it." She said with a smile and a wink before heading off to face another day of House's antics. If she was lucky, they wouldn't have a case and maybe she'd be able to help out in the ER and see how Kat was adjusting. Remy didn't know why, but she already found herself at ease with Kat, even though they barely knew each other.

Cameron raised an eyebrow as she watched Kat watch Thirteen leave. "You two know each other?"

Kat snapped her attention back to Cameron. "What? Oh. No. Not really."

Cameron frowned, slightly puzzled, when Kat didn't elaborate. "Ok." She noticed the bag Kat was carrying. "You know where to put your stuff?"

Kat shook her head.

"Here. I'll show you." Cameron said and led Kat to a room filled with lockers and benches. "I think the locker there is empty." Cameron pointed to one.

Kat wondered over to it, opened it and found that it was indeed empty. She dumped her bag in it and pulled out her lab coat that her folks had given her when she'd gotten into Med School with her name embroidered on it.

Cameron's pager went off as they stood there and Kat felt her heart begin to race in excitement. Could Cameron be being paged for some big trauma?

"Let's go!" Cameron said, speed walking out of the room and across the ER towards the ambulance bay. Kat followed. Cameron greeted the paramedics who were rolling in a woman who seemed to be bleeding from the abdomen. "What do we have?"

"Eighteen year old MVA female passenger, thrown from the vehicle and impaled on a metal stick from a guard rail. She was unconscious at the scene and we had to intubate her on the way here." A paramedic told her.

"Let's see what we can do for her." Cameron said, helping transfer the patient from the stretcher to a hospital bed.

"Male passenger is coming in another ambulance. He's got a massive head laceration." The paramedic informed them, before taking his stretcher and heading back to his ambulance to tidy it before they got their next run.

Cameron looked across the patient to Kat. "Wouldn't want you to be bored on your first day. Would you like the abdomen or the head?"

"I'll wait for the head." Kat said, heading back to the ambulance bay, her heart still racing. So far it was shaping up to be an excellent first day.

_____________________

"We have no new case, but we have a new doctor." House said when Thirteen and Kutner entered the room.

"And you want us to diagnose her?" Remy asked, raising an eyebrow. "That's why you called us here?"

"I never said it was a 'she,' Thirteen. How did you know that?" House snapped his attention to Thirteen. "Do you just notice every pretty face that walks through the hospital doors?"

Remy rolled her eyes.

"Cuddy brought her around and introduced her to all of us last week." Foreman interrupted.

"She did? Why would she do that?" House looked genuinely concerned for a minute. "Oh well. Yes. I'd like you to diagnose her, so to speak. Whoever can tell me why she took this job and what her first day's like the best gets..." House rummaged through his pockets and glanced in his wallet. "Twenty bucks from Wilson." He finished.

"Maybe she likes being a doctor." Remy pointed out.

"No. And why did she take the job here specifically? That's what I want to know…Go on…Hop to it little bunnies." House tried to shoo them out of the room, but they continued to sit there looking skeptical.

"You've never asked us to investigate any of the other doctors who've started working here. Why this one?" Taub asked.

"It's my new policy. I'm taking a poll, but I wanted you to start with the newest doctor so her reason for taking the job would be freshest in her mind." House replied sarcastically.

"And why do you want to know how her first day goes? It's not like you care, unless you for some reason are hoping she screws up and gets fired." Foreman added.

"I happen to care how our ER is run and I want to make sure the staff can cut it." House said. "Now GO!"

The team exchanged skeptical glances, but stood and left the room. Remy certainly wasn't going to complain. This meant she'd get to spend the day in the ER helping out. Still, she was curious as to House's real motives. Even for him this was a bizarre request.

"How're we supposed to find stuff out about her without seeming creepy or stalkerish?" Kutner asked, Thirteen as they strode down the hallway.

"You're worried about seeming like a stalker?" Remy raised an eyebrow.

"Hey! I don't need to revert to stalking to get girls. And did you see her? She's hot!" Kutner replied.

_Yeah she is!_ Remy silently agreed with him. "I dunno. Just try not to be creepy?" She suggested aloud.

"Gee thanks." He rolled his eyes.

When they got to the ER Remy saw Kat putting pressure on what seemed to a serious laceration to some guy's head. She went straight over. "What can I do?"

"Put pressure on the wound for me?" Kat replied, barely looking up. She was completely in trauma mode.

"I see the light." Wailed the patient pathetically.

"Sir, I assure you that you do not. We are not going to let you die. You need to stop moving though. Sir? Sir!" Kat struggled to keep the man calm. "Let's get him some morphine." She requested of one of the nurses. Kat was handed a syringe and she injected it into his line. She went back up to the head wound and noticed the blood had already soaked through the gauze padding again. "Let's change the gauze, and keep the pressure on it." She said to Remy who nodded, doing as asked.

"We need to get this stitched up as soon as possible." Remy said.

"Until we get the bleeding down, I can't even see well enough to attempt to stitch it. And until we get the bleeding under control and the head stitch we can't get the head CT that he definitely needs." Kat sighed in frustration. "We need to get him into surgery now."

"I'll page Chase." Remy offered as Kat took over holding the gauze over the wound.

A few minutes later they were wheeling the man into surgery. Kat insisted on scrubbing in and assisting. He was her first patient here and she wanted to make sure that everything went well.


	8. Chapter 8

An hour and a half later Kat exited the room and sighed. Kat glanced up to find Remy and she really looked at her for the first time since the brunette had reappeared in the ER. "So what're you doing down here? Not that I didn't appreciate the help." She asked.

"House doesn't need us today. Well, he claims he does, but…He's just being weird." Remy replied.

"What does he say he needs you for?" Kat asked.

"To find out dirt on you. We're supposed to find out why you took the job here and how your first day goes." Remy explained.

Kat rolled her eyes, groaning internally. Why couldn't her uncle just leave her alone to do her work?

"My guess is he thinks you're hot. He tends to like pretty little things around our age. Rumor is he hooked up with Cameron back when she worked for him." Remy said.

Kat almost laughed aloud. "Ha. No. I'm pretty sure that's not it. And Cameron really hooked up with him?"

"I know they went on a date." Remy divulged.

"Ew."

Remy raised an eyebrow at this response.

"Sorry. I just don't understand girls who go for much older guys." Kat tried to cover. _I really don't get girls who go for my uncle._ She thought to herself.

"Ah…Yeah. I get that." Remy replied.

"So you're here digging up information on me." Kat said.

"No. I'm here to help. Kutner and Taub are here to find information on you." Remy clarified.

"Ah. And what do they get for giving him this information?" Kat asked.

"Twenty bucks from Wilson." Remy replied.

"Who's Wilson?" Kat inquired.

"House's best friend. Though I can't figure out why. House likes to mooch off of him a lot, therefore, instead of paying us himself, he'll just figure out a way to get the money from Wilson." Remy explained.

"Poor him." Kat felt bad for Wilson. She couldn't imagine her uncle having a best friend. He was far too gruff and grouchy from what she remembered from family gatherings with him. Not to mention he was extremely self-centered and egotistic. "So you don't want the twenty bucks?"

"I can live without it."

Kat thought for a second. "I took the job because Cuddy offered me the best money and I needed a job. I have rent to make, and even then I don't know how I'll do it when Jenny moves out. I think I'll need to get a smaller place. Her family's loaded so they've been helping us out. We've got this awesome three bedroom place in this great location downtown. The third bedroom we converted to a study so it's filled with all of our medical charts. Let's just say it's really not cheap. Plus I've got all the debt that everyone accumulates during med school."

"I'm not gonna tell him. I don't feel like playing his flunky today." Remy said

"So then you know for you." Kat replied with a smile.

Remy smiled back, then noticed Kutner approaching out of the corner of her eye. "We've got company." She nodded in his direction.

Kat noticed him and rolled her eyes.

"Helloo Ladieees!" Kutner greeted them, trying to be smooth, but failing.

Remy and Kat exchanged a look and burst out laughing.

"Ok, what?!" Kutner asked in a normal voice.

"Nothing." Remy said through her laughter.

"No really! What?" He became slightly more desperate.

"That was soooo not smooth." Remy said causing Kat to laugh even harder.

"What? I wasn't…I am…I wasn't trying to be smooth." Kutner replied.

Remy and Kat exchanged another look causing even more giggles.

"I wasn't!" Kutner insisted. "What are you two doing here anyway? I thought you got hired in the ER."

"I just got out of surgery. My patient got moved to the ICU and I was gonna head back in a minute. Feel free to run and update House about my first day." Kat said.

Kutner turned to Remy incredulously. "You told her?"

"Now you don't have to worry about seeming creepy when you follow her around and ask her twenty questions." Remy pointed out.

Kat laughed. "Well…" She said in a teasing voice.

"Oh come on. Look, just tell me why you took the job here and I'll split the money with you. Fifty, fifty."

"A whole ten bucks? How will I live without it?" Kat shot back. "Wanna head back?" Kat asked Remy who nodded and they started to walk down the hallway towards the ER.

"Come on. Just give me something. And how come you're all buddy buddy with her? You two know each other or something? Because I'm pretty sure that's cheating." Kutner called after them.

"I met her the same day I met you." Kat said over her shoulder. "Tell him I needed money to feed my drug habit so I had to take the first job offered to me."

"You're kidding." Kutner ran after them. "She's kidding right?" Kutner asked Remy.

Remy rolled her eyes and ignored him. "Hey what time is it?"

Kat checked her watch. "Eleven twelve."

"Wanna grab lunch later?" Remy asked.

"Sure." Kat replied.

"Well…What about me? Can I come?" Kutner inquired.

Remy and Kat looked at each other. "No." They said simultaneously and giggled as they continued down the hallway.

___________________________

The day flew by and Kat and Remy never actually got their lunch. By seven o'clock, Kat had set three broken legs and two broken arms. She'd been lucky enough to inform fifteen people that they had colds and needed rest and fluids. She'd gotten four people having allergic reactions of varying degrees, and had lost a patient to a heart attack. She'd barely had a minute to shove a snack from a vending machine into her mouth between the patients, the paperwork, and checking on her head wound in the ICU. He was stable, but he'd lost a lot of blood and possible brain damage was still unclear until he woke up.

Kat headed back to her locker to grab her stuff. She was done for the night and she was exhausted.

"Hey."

Kat smiled when she heard the familiar voice. She turned around. "Hey Remy."

"I lost you somewhere during the day. The ER got swamped." Remy said apologetically.

"Yeah. No kidding." Kat sank down onto a bench. "So who got the twenty bucks?"

"No one." Remy replied. "Though Kutner tried the drug line. House rolled his eyes and blew it off. We're all supposed to try again tomorrow unless we get an actual case."

"Ah. You should have just told him and gotten the money." Kat said, though she was secretly happy that she hadn't. It was nice to know that there was someone she could talk to at work who wouldn't divulge things to her uncle.

"Eh. Money's not everything." Remy shrugged as she opened her locker, which Kat couldn't help but notice was right next to hers. "So you want to grab some dinner? I'm starving."

Kat nodded. "Sounds great. I'm famished."

"Famished huh? Showing me up with the vocab there?" Remy teased.

Kat laughed. "Sorry. Oh hey…I should call Jenny, let her know I'm grabbing some food with you. Otherwise she'll worry."

"She'll worry?"

"She can be a little overprotective. Sometimes she forgets that she's not really my big sister." Kat explained.

"Well, tell her to meet us somewhere. I'm guessing she's gonna want to know all about your first day." Remy said.

"Ha. You're dead on." Kat laughed.

"So…By the looks of things, Cameron didn't do a lot of showing you the ropes." Remy pointed out.

"Yeah. I might have been thrown in on the deep end. It's not Cameron's fault though. I mean we were ridiculously swamped today. I wanted to stop the medics and say 'Please go on a long break before you call back on. Go get a coffee and some donuts. Just don't bring us anymore patients!'"

Remy laughed. "So how do you think your first day went?"

"Well I only killed one person, and considering that they were already performing CPR when they arrived, I don't feel all that bad. It wasn't like I missed something major and sent them home where they dropped dead. So all in all, I'd rate it a pretty successful day." Kat replied.

Remy nodded with a smile. "I agree."

Kat pulled out her phone and called Jenny. They decided to meet up at a diner that Kat and Jenny had frequented on late nights during med school. When she hung up, Kat turned her attention back to Remy. "Shall we go?"

Remy nodded. "We shall."

They both grabbed their bags and headed out of the room. As they were crossing the ER, the voice that Kat had been dreading hearing all day called out. "Thirteen!"

Remy stopped and turned next to her, so Kat stopped too. She didn't turn yet though.

"Can I help you?" Remy asked, though she didn't sound as if she really wanted to help him at all.

"You didn't give me a report. You simply said you didn't know anything. Kutner, however, seems to think you do know something. I'd like your report now. I'll even give you forty bucks." House said, in a condescending tone.

"Of Wilson's money?" Kat asked, finally turning around.

"Oh…" House said. He hadn't recognized his niece from behind. "I heard you have a drug habit to support." He told her, trying not to let her presence get to him.

Kat raised her eyebrows. "Yep. That's why Cuddy hired me. She didn't think one doctor with a drug habit was enough, so here I am."

"Right." House replied sullenly. Clearly his niece was more of a smart ass than he'd anticipated.

"Can we leave? Or was there something else?" Kat asked coldly.

House considered the question for a minute before waving them away. He wasn't ready for a full confrontation with his niece. He didn't know enough about who she was now, and it was clear she still held a grudge against him. For once, he couldn't really blame her. His sister had barely spoken to him since Kat had almost died from the pneumonia. House furrowed his brows and limped away without saying another word.

"Huh." Remy said, looking after him.

"What?" Kat asked.

"It's just not like him to give up so easily." Remy replied.

"What exactly did he tell you guys when he asked you to investigate me?" Kat inquired.

"Just that he wanted us to see what we could find out about why the new doctor took the job." Remy said. "Kinda an odd request from him, but I've learned not to be too surprised by anything he does. You'll get used to it."

Kat nodded, but internally she was cringing. She didn't want to get used to it. She was just glad that she hadn't had to see him too much yet. If work continued like this, then she'd be quite happy. She was not looking forward to whenever House got an actual case that Cuddy wanted her to look in on. She knew enough to know that her uncle was going to be far from thrilled about the fact that someone was looking over his shoulder and he was going to be even less thrilled that that somebody was her. "Let's get outta here." She said, linking arms with Remy and walking away from the hospital and House, even if it was just for the night.


	9. Chapter 9

"So? How was it???" Jenny asked as soon as she saw Kat and Remy. "How was your first day?" She tackled Kat with a hug.

"It was good. It was fine." Kat grinned, slightly overwhelmed by her friend. "Come on, let's go inside."

"Hey Remy." Jenny greeted her.

"Hey. Nice to see you again." Remy replied.

"Yeah. Definitely." Jenny eyed Remy and Kat suspiciously. _They've certainly bonded quickly._ Jenny had been somewhat surprised when Kat had told Jenny that Remy was coming to dinner with them. Then again, given the connection she'd seen the other night, Jenny had half expected something like this to happen. _But what kind of a bond have they formed? Are they leaning towards romantic or friendly?_ _Does Remy even swing that way?_ Jenny decided that this required more investigation.

Once they were seated in the diner and had ordered their drinks, Jenny turned her attention back to Kat. "Ok. So I want details! Now! Come on! Tell me all about your first day as a real ER doc."

Kat laughed. "Well…I ran into Remy first thing." Kat smiled at the brunette sitting next to her. "And we found Cameron together."

"Ok. Now…Cameron works in the ER with you? Right?" Jenny interrupted.

"Right." Kat confirmed. "And she showed me where to change and put my stuff, and then she got paged. Medics brought in female MVA victim. Cameron took her and I took another victim of the crash. Male with a head laceration. He needed surgery, and we still don't know about possible brain damage, but for now he's stable and in the ICU. After that, I had a pretty mundane day. Busy as hell, but nothing too out of the ordinary. I kept checking on Mr. Ridgewood. Besides that I had a whole bunch of people with sniffley noses that they swore were pneumonia or bronchitis or sinusitis or anything that sounded dire and a decent number of broken bones. Oh, and I got a couple of people in anaphylactic shock, one of which was basically a DOA. He's the only one I lost though."

"Wow. Not bad, babe. Sounds like they kept you busy." Jenny responded appreciatively.

"They did. Remy and I were supposed to have lunch together at some point, but we were too busy for that." Kat said.

"What about you? How was your day?" Jenny turned to Remy.

"Good. I got out from House's shadow and got to work in the ER with Kat. That's my idea of a nice Monday." Remy replied.

"You didn't have a case with House?" Jenny inquired.

"Nope. Well…Actually he wanted us to find out how Kat's first day was and why she joined the hospital. That was our 'case' so to speak." Remy explained.

Jenny raised an eyebrow at Kat who scowled. "Weird." Jenny said, taking the hint. "So did you find out?"

"Yep." Remy replied.

"And what'd he say when you told him?" Jenny asked.

"I didn't tell him." Remy said simply.

"Why not?" Jenny's curiosity was growing by the second.

"Because it's none of House's business, although he seems to think that everything's his business. I learned early on in working for him, that I prefer to have some secrets at work."

"Yeah. Thanks for keeping my oh-so-mysterious secret." Kat teased then turned to Jenny. "She even turned down forty bucks."

"Wow. I'm not sure I'd have been that cool. I'd totally have sold her out for forty bucks." Jenny grinned.

"Oh shut up." Kat rolled her eyes. "And how was your day? Did you have fun packing?"

"Ugh! I'm so sick of packing! I mean seriously, when did I get so much stuff? I have all this shit that I have no idea where it came from or why I ever got it!" Jenny sighed in exasperation. "Moving sucks."

"Hey, nobody said you had to move." Kat pointed out.

"Yeah, but it'd be one hell of commute if I lived here and worked in Manhattan." Jenny countered.

"True. True." Kat conceded. "So who asked you to go and get a job so far away? Huh?"

Jenny shrugged. "I just couldn't live with you anymore." She winked with a wicked grin on her face and Kat smacked her on the arm, gasping in mock astonishment.

Remy couldn't help but laugh. Jenny and Kat were so funny together. There was a playfulness and a comfort level that Remy craved to share with someone. "You guys are too much."

"Us? Nuh-uh. It's all her." Kat pointed an accusing finger at Jenny.

"Whatever. You love it." Jenny giggled.

"You ladies know what you're getting yet?" An approaching waiter asked them.

"Pancakes with a side of bacon." Jenny said without even glancing at the menu.

"You always get that." Kat accused her.

"It's good." Jenny defended herself.

"I'll have the grilled cheese with tomato and bacon please, and a large plate of fries." Kat said.

"No. You can't eat dinner at a diner. Only breakfast food. You know better than that. She'll take the French toast with powdered sugar and syrup with an egg over easy." Jenny corrected.

Kat rolled her eyes. The waiter looked at her questioningly. "I'll have what she said. And the fries."

"Pig." Jenny teased.

"Shut up." Kat glared and turned expectantly to Remy.

"I'll…I don't know." Remy looked to Kat for advice.

"Well apparently we're not allowed to have dinner food. They have great pancakes here. Get the chocolate chip ones." Kat advised.

"Ok. I'll have a short stack of the chocolate chip pancakes please." Remy ordered.

The waiter nodded and took their menus and left.

"Don't worry. I'll share my fries." Kat assured Remy.

Remy smiled. "Thanks."

"Ok. I'll be right back. I've gotta pee. Jenny?" Kat tried to get her friend's attention.

"Mm?" Jenny looked up at her.

"Behave." Kat requested.

"Moi??? I always behave!" Jenny pretended to be offended.

Kat raised an eyebrow and waited expectantly.

"Ok, ok. I'll behave. Go pee." Jenny shooed Kat away. As soon as she was out of ear shot, Jenny turned her attention to Remy. "So…"

The mischievous look in Jenny's eyes was making Remy slightly uncomfortable. "Yeah?"

"Ok, I know I told Kat I'd behave, but I had my fingers crossed under the table." Jenny shrugged. "This is gonna sound way out of line, but…"

Remy squirmed. "Yeah?" She repeated.

"Are you in to chicks?"

Remy almost choked on her saliva. "What?" She asked when the coughing subsided.

"Maybe I'm way off base. I'm not sure. I just…I'm curious." Jenny replied.

"Are _you_ in to chicks?" Remy asked.

"Eh. It's not really my thing, but I'd try it definitely. I mean there are some girls who are just hot as hell." Jenny said honestly.

"That's for sure." Remy agreed.

"So that would be a yes on the being into girls thing?" Jenny persisted.

Remy swallowed hard then nodded. "Yeah. And guys." Remy could tell that there was no point in lying to Jenny. She was definitely the strong-willed type who'd get the information out of you sooner or later.

"I wondered about that."

"Why?" Remy asked.

Jenny shrugged. "I dunno. There was a vibe I guess. I don't care. I certainly don't judge. I just wanted to know."

"What're you two talking about?" Kat asked, reemerging at the booth and sitting back down next to Remy.

"How hot you are, clearly." Jenny replied without missing a beat.

Kat rolled her eyes and turned to Remy. "No really."

"Really." Remy shrugged. "We couldn't help it. You're too hot for your own good."

Jenny laughed, but Kat blushed slightly. _Aha! She does like her!_ Jenny thought triumphantly to herself.

"Yeah ok. Whatever. Fine. Don't tell me." Kat recovered quickly.

Jenny gave an exaggerated sigh. "Fine. We were talking about our love lives."

"You have a love life?" Kat looked skeptically at her friend.

"No. Hence it wasn't a very long conversation." Jenny replied.

"What about you?" Kat asked Remy. "Anyone special in your life right now?"

Remy gazed into Kat's green eyes and froze for a second. Jenny kicked her under the table, breaking the spell. "Ow. Um…no. I mean I'm not dating anyone."

"Not a lot of eligible guys at the hospital?" Kat inquired.

Remy shook her head. "Nope. Or girls."

Kat looked sharply at Remy in surprise. She hadn't suspected that Remy was anything other than completely straight. _My gaydar must be off._ "You're gay?"

"Bi." Remy blushed.

"Oh." Kat turned to Jenny, glaring. "That's what you were really talking about , wasn't it?!"

"What? I…She…No! Would I do that?" Jenny stuttered.

"Yes." Kat said. "I'm sorry." She apologized to Remy.

"Don't worry about it." Remy replied.

"Is that one of those things you want to keep quiet from House?" Kat inquired.

"Wanted to. It only worked for so long. He eventually figured it out. Now it's one of his favorite topics." Remy said.

"Right. Well remind me to try to hide that from him too." Kat sighed.

It was Remy's turn to be surprised. "You're bi too?"

"I'm gay. I haven't dated a guy since high school, and I wasn't that into that one." Kat explained.

"My gaydar must be off."

"That's funny. I was just thinking the same thing." Kat said.

_Amazing._ Jenny thought watching her two friends as the food arrived. _Neither of them can see what's directly in front of them. This should be interesting._


	10. Chapter 10

House sat in his office absent-mindedly twirling his cane. Where had Kat and Thirteen been going? Did they know each other, or had they simply met at the hospital? Why didn't Thirteen give a report about Kat's day? Oh sure, his other spies had told him how Kat's day had gone. She'd been kept busy and by all accounts had shown excellent skill. Somewhere deep down in him, the uncle part of him was proud of her for that, though he wouldn't admit it even to himself. _Why is she really here?_ House wondered. It couldn't just be because Cuddy offered her the job. There had to be something else. Why Princeton-Plainsboro over someplace else. If she was as good as she seemed to be, this couldn't have been her only job offer. She didn't seem to want anything to do with him, so House was starting to doubt that she'd taken the job to try to reconcile with him. House furrowed his brow.

"House, are you heading out soon?" Wilson popped his head into House's office.

House looked up, confused for a second, then his brain registered Wilson. "What?"

"Are you leaving soon?" Wilson repeated.

"Yes. I was just waiting for you to offer to buy me dinner." House said, standing up.

Wilson rolled his eyes. "We can order Chinese."

House grinned triumphantly.

"By the way, I heard that you're having your fellows investigate the new doctor. What's that about?"

House shrugged. "Idle curiosity?"

Wilson shook his head. "No. Well, maybe partially. But what is it really? Do you think she's hot? She'd a bit young for you from what I've heard."

"No. She's not hot." House shuddered slightly. Even he drew a line somewhere.

"House, I've seen her. She's really quite attractive." Wilson looked skeptically at his friend.

"If she's too young for me, she's too young for you Wilson." House said.

Wilson skepticism turned to confusion. These were not typical House responses. "Ok. So what's your reason for being so interested in her then?"

"I'm not. I just wondered why she was here and thought it would be a good way to entertain the kids for the day." House replied in a sardonic tone of voice.

"Okaay." Wilson said, deciding to drop the matter for now.

House considered briefly telling Wilson that the new doctor was related to him, but decided against it. Wilson would ask too many questions. Besides, Wilson was the type to encourage House to make things right with her. It seemed pretty clear from the few interactions House had had with Kat that she had no interest in that. House scowled. _I'll keep tabs on her._ He told himself. _That way I'll know what she's up to so we can stay out of each other's way._ The small, ignored, uncle portion of his brain pointed out that perhaps it was also because he cared how she was doing. He shook his head. Definitely not. He didn't care about anybody but himself.

___________________________

"Oh my God, those pancakes were delicious! I'm stuffed!" Remy exclaimed as she, Kat, and Jenny left the restaurant. "I'm so glad I took your advice."

Kat grinned. "Told you."

"Yep." Remy smiled back at her.

Jenny looked at her watch. "Ugh. Do you guys realize it's ten thirty already?"

"What do you care? You don't have to get up in the morning." Kat pointed out.

"I can sympathize with the fact that you two suckers have to be up at the crack of dawn though." Jenny stuck out her tongue and Kat shoved her playfully.

Remy laughed. "You guys crack me up."

Jenny hooked arms with Kat and Remy as they headed to their cars. "So tell me Remy, do you have your eye on anyone at the moment? Male or female of course."

Kat nudged Jenny, trying to get her to shut up. On the one hand she was kind of curious, on the other Jenny was being too nosy.

Remy blushed. "Umm…Not really."

"You sure?" Jenny asked. Kat elbowed her in the ribs. "Ow!"

Remy giggled nervously. She didn't think she liked anyone, but...She tried not to think about it. "Yeah. No one really at the moment. What about you?"

"Me?" Jenny shrugged. "Well, you know I've had the hots for Kat for years." She joked.

Remy's eyes widened slightly at this comment, but she laughed a little.

"Of course. You so want me." Kat laughed.

"Definitely!" Jenny stopped and pecked Kat on the lips. She sighed in contentment. "Perfect lips. You should try it Remy."

Remy stood there, eyebrows raised in surprise. "I'll, uh…I think…"

"Ignore her. She's just being a pain in the ass." Kat advised, still giggling.

Jenny grinned wickedly. "Maybe. But it's so fun."

Kat rolled her eyes and Remy laughed.

"K, this is my car. Remy, I hope I'll see you soon." Jenny gave her a parting kiss on the cheek. "And you, darling girl, I will see at home." She kissed Kat on the forehead.

"See you there." Kat replied. She and Remy stood and watched Jenny pull out of the parking lot, then they continued to their cars. "So I'll see you at work tomorrow?" Kat asked.

"Hope so. Unless House gets a case." Remy said.

"Yeah…" Kat briefly considered telling Remy about the extra part of her job description. If she said that she was there to help control House, then Remy would want to know why, and Kat didn't want to flat out lie to her.

Kat and Remy kissed on the cheek.

"Right. Well. I'll see you tomorrow then." Remy felt strangely reluctant to get into her car and drive away.

"Yeah. See you." Kat smiled. She stood awkwardly for a second, then got into her car and headed home. Part of her was really looking forward to the next day. She hoped that House didn't get a case.

_______________________

"How're you feeling today Mr. Ridgewood? It's nice to see you awake today." Kat greeted her patient in the ICU.

"I feel like somebody split my head open with something." Mr. Ridgewood replied, cracking his eyes open. "It's so bright in here."

"Sorry about that." Kat turned out the lights. "Better?"

Mr. Ridgewood nodded. "Thanks."

Kat went over to the bed and picked up his charts. "Looks like you're due for some more pain meds too." Kat stuck her head out of the room, grabbed a nurse and asked her to get more meds for Mr. Ridgewood, before turning her attention back to the patient himself. "So, I see here that your CT scan was normal. You should be good to go after a couple of days recovery. We can probably move you out of the ICU later today." Kat smiled.

"Thanks." Mr. Ridgewood said again. He sat up to better see his doctor. "I go by Jon, by the way."

"Sorry?" Kat was confused.

"You called me Mr. Ridgewood. That's my dad. I'm Jon."

"Ok then, Jon. Do you have any family we should call? You must want some company." Kat asked.

"No. I'm good." Jon replied.

"What about your dad?"

"No. I said I'm alright." Jon insisted.

"Ok." Kat said, putting down his chart. "I'll check in on you again later, ok?"

"Yeah."

Kat headed for the door, when Jon's voice stopped her in her tracks.

"Hey. I…uh…I feel…"

Kat turned to see Jon gagging. She grabbed a bedpan and handed it to him and he promptly vomited into it.

"Well, not surprisingly, you seem to have a concussion." Kat said, easing him back once he was done vomiting.

Jon wiped his mouth and nodded. Kat started to take the bedpan away to dump it, but he grabbed her arm and pulled her back. Kat thought she noticed something in the dim light that alarmed her as Jon continued vomiting into the bedpan.

"Jon, I'm sorry. Close your eyes if you can, but I really need to turn on the lights for a minute."

Kat flipped the switch and confirmed her fears. Jon wasn't just vomiting; he was vomiting blood.

_Shit!_ She thought to herself.


	11. Chapter 11

"House, you cannot steal my patients!" Kat barged into his office.

"He needs diagnosing. I'm a diagnostician." House argued back.

Foreman, Taub, Kutner, and Remy sat there in surprise. The only people they'd ever had barge in on House were Cuddy and Wilson. They certainly hadn't expected the new doctor that to the best of their knowledge didn't even know House to come in arguing.

"I was in the process of diagnosing him when you stole him out from under my nose!" Kat raised her voice.

"Are you a diagnostician? I thought you worked in the ER." House was trying to act calm and uncaring, but he knew he'd crossed a line. He wasn't sure why he'd stolen this patient. There was nothing overly mysterious about vomiting blood, certainly nothing that Kat couldn't probably diagnose on her own.

Cuddy was passing by the office when she heard yelling. She went in. "What's going on?"

"House stole my patient. He claims it's some medical mystery." Kat accused.

"House!" Cuddy turned disapprovingly to the man in question.

"He's not in the ER. Doesn't she work in the ER?" House pointed out.

Cuddy scowled at him. "Fine. You want this case, take it. But she works with you." Cuddy turned to the other team members. "Kat has final say. I trust her to make more rational decisions than House, who's already proved that he's a thief." With that Cuddy exited the office, leaving House there torn between feeling smug at his victory of getting the patient or annoyed at being given a babysitter, and his niece no less.

Kat chased after her. "You're just going to let him steal my patient?" Kat demanded indignantly.

"I assume this is the man who was vomiting blood earlier in the ICU?" Cuddy asked.

"Yes." Kat confirmed.

"He's still your patient. He's just now House's as well." Cuddy said.

"Look, when you said I'd have to work with House, I thought you meant from time to time look in on him. Not constantly on one of my patients." Kat lowered her voice to keep passersby from overhearing.

"House isn't going to relinquish the patient without a fight. Trust me this is the easiest way." Cuddy said leaving no room for discussion.

Kat scowled and marched back to House's office. House had written 'bloody vomit' on a dry erase board.

"So…Who can tell me what causes patients to start spewing blood?" House was asking.

"House, Kat's right. Why do you want this patient? There's no real mystery." Remy pointed out.

"Not what I asked." House stated.

Kat glowered at House across the room, who shuffled his feet slightly uncomfortably. He was leaning more and more to this not actually being a victory.

"Do you two know each other?" Foreman asked, eyes bouncing back and forth between House and Kat.

"Not what I asked either." House tried to dodge the question.

"I didn't see you two get introduced, yet she just barged right in here and seemed to know exactly who you were." Foreman stuck to his point.

"Cuddy was kind enough to introduce her. Moving back to the man spewing bloody vomit." House tried again to keep his team on track. Already he didn't like what Kat's presence was doing to the situation.

"Esophagitis." Taub suggested, much to Kat's relief. She wanted the subject changed before more questions were asked.

"Caused by?" House asked.

"GERD." Remy said.

"Not in his medical history." House replied.

"I'm not sure how much is in his medical history he's only been conscious for a couple of hours." Kat pointed out.

"What else?" House asked, trying to ignore her.

"It could be a Mallory-Weiss laceration." Kutner said.

"Yes. Leap to the least likely conclusion automatically. Well done." House mocked him.

"House!" Kat scolded.

House stepped back a little. "Sorry." He murmured.

Remy and Foreman exchanged a confused look while Kutner and Taub sat there in shock. House never apologized.

"He hasn't been vomiting long enough for that laceration. Peptic ulcer is the most likely cause. Start him on PPIs." Kat said, still staring coldly at House.

House had to admit to himself that Kat was probably right. Still he just couldn't let her win. Not this easily. "Caused by what?"

"Well, two most common causes are _Helicobacter pylori_ and excessive use of NSAIDs." Foreman said. "I'm guessing one of them."

"Probably NSAIDS." Kutner decided. "He's got a head wound. He's probably been popping ibuprofen."

"Since yesterday while he was unconscious? That's impressive." House pointed out the flaw in Kutner's logic.

"Doesn't make it not NSAIDs. He could have been taking them previously for other pain. Just to be safe, run the test for _H. pylori_ and start him on PPIs for the ulcer please." Kat said.

Kutner and Taub looked to House, who said nothing. They stood and left the room to do as requested. Foreman stood too. He wasn't used to hearing the word "please" in House's office. It sounded out of place. "What's going on here?" He asked.

"We're treating a patient?" Kat suggested with a smile.

"Why did House steal your patient?" Foreman persisted.

Kat shrugged. "You'd really have to ask him." She was getting uncomfortable. It was clear that Foreman knew that something was up. She looked to Remy, who was examining her with a puzzled look on her face. _Shit! Why'd he have to steal my patient? He must have known I'd come after him. Why would he want me to be around? Maybe he just thought that if he stole my patient I'd do something stupid and give Cuddy a reason to fire me. That sounds probable. He is an ass after all. _

Foreman raised an eyebrow at her and glanced skeptically at House before he left the room.

Remy stood too and followed him out.

"Hi, by the way." Kat whispered as Remy passed her.

"Hi." Remy shot her a smile, before heading off to make sure Taub and Kutner were running the labs.

Once everyone was gone, Kat shut the door to House's office and turned on him.

"Let's get one thing straight." Kat spat vehemently at him. "No one here knows we're related. I am not your niece and you are not my uncle. As far as I'm concerned that's how it really is. I don't know you, and you sure as hell don't know me."

House couldn't bring himself to meet his niece's eyes. Clearly she was not there to play nice with him. She was there to do her job. House scowled at the floor. "Fine." He replied quietly.

"Good. Another thing. This is my patient. Not yours." Kat said.

House nodded, still unable to meet Kat's gaze.

"One last thing. While I'm here, treat your team with a little respect." Kat added for good measure.

"Then they'd know something was up." House replied meekly.

Kat's scowl deepened. "Fine, just…Don't treat them like complete crap. They're human. They have emotions. I know that you don't know what those are, and that the concept of humanity kind of escapes your grasp, but you can tone down being an asshole just a little bit."

House glanced up and saw nothing but disgust and dislike in his niece's eyes. He looked back at the carpet. "I'll try."

"Good." With that, Kat turned on her heels and left the room.

House sunk into his chair, feeling defeated. He didn't like feeling defeated. He didn't like the look he'd seen in Kat's eyes. House preferred being able to feel sorry for himself. With Kat there, he felt more angry with himself than anything. He stabbed his cane at the floor in frustration. _This is going to be hell._

____________________________  
_

"He's responding well to the PPIs. He's stopped vomiting." Remy told Kat as the talked outside of the patient's room.

"Good. How about the blood test?" Kat asked.

"Negative for _H. pylori_." Remy replied.

"Ok. So most likely caused by extended use of NSAIDs." Kat mused aloud.

"Yep." Remy agreed, leaning back against the wall and watching the patient.

"Thanks for the update." Kat said, leaning against the wall next to Remy.

"No problem, though House won't be pleased when he finds out I updated you before him." Remy sighed.

"Well he can deal."

Remy glanced sidelong at Kat. "Ok seriously…Why does it already seem like you two have it in for each other?"

"What? I don't know. I just don't like overly arrogant doctors. They rub me the wrong way." Kat replied.

"Still. Most doctors, especially new ones, are falling all over themselves to get on House's good side. You've done nothing of the sort." Remy pointed out.

Kat shrugged. "I'm not most doctors. Remember? Not a big enough ego."

Remy laughed. "True."

"Besides, I hate doctors who don't really care about their patients. That's House. I can't get over that fact no matter how brilliant he is." Kat added.

Remy nodded. She could understand that. "I had fun last night."

"Me too." Kat was thankful for the change in subject. "Jenny, Claudia, Eliza and I are gonna go out again on Friday. It'd be cool if you could come. It's Eliza's last night in town. She's leaving Saturday afternoon."

"You sure you don't wanna just spend the time with her?" Remy asked.

"Nah. The more the merrier. She liked you. Besides, Jenny seems to really enjoy hanging out with you. Last night she kept asking me about you." Kat confided.

"She's straight though."

"Yeah…but she's got bicurious tendencies. Besides, I don't know if she likes you like that, but you've certainly gotten her official seal of approval to be my friend while she's gone." Kat said.

Remy laughed. "Good. Ok. I'll come out with you guys then, if you're sure it's ok."

"I'm sure." Kat confirmed.

"Cool. Well I should probably go tell House." Remy said, pushing off from the wall.

"Yeah. Probably should. Make sure he pages me if you have another team meeting?" Kat requested.

"Sure. See ya later." Remy headed off down the hallway.

Kat watched her go and realized after a second that she was checking out Remy's ass. _Shame on you!_ She thought to herself, averting her gaze. _Nobody from work! You cannot like anybody you work with._ _Still,_ she thought,_ it was a really nice ass._


	12. Chapter 12

"So we know that he's been vomiting blood due to a peptic ulcer. And, due to process of elimination, we are fairly certain he's been using NSAIDs for quite some time. Does anybody know why?" House asked, scribbling on his white board.

"Pain management?" Taub suggested dryly.

"My what brilliant wit you have Taub. I see what your receptionist and your wife saw in you." House retorted, then glanced at Kat who was scowling at him. He cleared his throat. "Where is he having pain?"

"He hasn't been complaining of any pain besides the pain in his head." Foreman told House.

"Did you ask him about pain he had before his head got a laceration that went down to his skull?" House inquired, trying to keep his tone in check.

Foreman didn't reply. He hadn't.

"I'll go talk to him." Kat said, standing to leave the room.

"I'll go with you." Remy volunteered.

"It takes two of you to talk to one patient?" House asked.

Kat glared.

"Nevermind." House muttered. "The rest of you can disperse as well. This meeting was pointless without more information from the patient himself."

Kat and Remy left the room followed closely by Taub and Kutner. "Ok so are you two like friends now?" Kutner asked.

Kat and Remy exchanged a look and then glanced over their shoulder at Kutner. "We have a good work relationship." Kat said.

"Yeah, but come on. You two knew each other before you started here, didn't you?" Taub prodded.

"Nope." Kat answered truthfully.

Taub raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Ok, so you two are hooking up then?"

"That would be so hot!" Kutner said emphatically, fantasies already starting to form in his brain.

Remy rolled her eyes. "Just because I'm bi, doesn't mean I hook up with every girl in sight."

"Could you, though? And could I watch?" Kutner asked.

"No!" Kat and Remy exclaimed simultaneously.

Taub and Kutner exchanged a disappointed look. Taub had to admit, the idea of Remy and Kat together was really hot. _You're trying to patch things up with your wife Taub._ He reminded himself. _Stop thinking about two hot young girls together._

_________________________  
_

"Hi Jon. How're you doing?" Kat asked, striding into his room followed by Remy.

"I'm feeling a bit better now that I'm not puking every two seconds." Jon replied.

Kat smiled. "Good. Can you tell me if you've been having any pain?"

"My head's been killing me." Jon said.

"Yes. But I meant before you got in the car accident. Were you taking ibuprofen for anything?" Remy asked.

Jon looked at Remy and turned back to Kat. "Dr. McManus, who's that?"

"This is Dr. Hadley. She's working on your case with me." Kat explained.

"Oh. Ok then. Yeah. I've been taking like ten Advil a day for a while now. I've been having these horrible headaches." Jon said.

"About how long?" Remy asked in concern.

"I don't know like a month or two? The headaches usually last several hours." Jon replied.

"Didn't you see a doctor for it?" Kat inquired.

"Nah. It's alright. It's not like my arm was hanging off or something serious like that. It was just headaches." Jon claimed.

Kat refrained from rolling her eyes. That was such a typical guy response. She'd had a friend in high school whose hand had slipped during an afterschool carpentry class and he'd ended up with a chisel through his hand. Kat had actually had to persuade him to go to the hospital. He just wanted to pull it out himself and put a band-aid on it. "Have you been having any other symptoms that we should know about?"

"Not really. I had a fever on and off for a couple of days. That's about it." Jon replied.

"Ok. Well let us know if you start to feel worse again at all. Ok?" Kat said.

"Ok Dr. McManus." Jon nodded.

Kat and Remy left the room. "Headache and fever? That narrows it down." Remy muttered sarcastically.

Kat shrugged. "It's what we have to work with for now, but yeah, it does leave an awful lot of possible illnesses."

______________________

"Taub and Kutner, you two go to the patient's house and see what you can find. Maybe he's been huffing and that's why he's had the headache." House delegated.

"And the fever? House just because you're on drugs, doesn't mean everyone is. You're not breaking into his house." Kat countered.

House closed his eyes and clenched his teeth. "On the other hand, if I'm right and he just had some flu when he had the fever, then we will have saved a lot of time and money not running useless tests in the hospital."

"Since when do you care about saving the hospital money? I'll talk to him. If he gives us permission to search his house for environmental toxins, then they can go ahead. Otherwise, no. Now what can we do in the meantime to figure out what's wrong with him?" Kat overrode House's decision.

"I vote Lyme disease." Foreman interjected.

"He didn't complain about a rash." House pointed out.

"Since when do you believe that patients always divulge everything? The guy didn't go to a doctor while he was having migraines for a couple of months! You think he'd care enough about a small rash to mention it? Besides, it might have been somewhere that he didn't see it." Remy countered.

House sighed and waved for them to continue.

"It could just be that he has chronic migraines and had the flu a couple of weeks back." Kutner suggested.

"Possible. What about Cryptococcosis?" Foreman suggested.

"Did the patient complain of lung problems?" House inquired.

"No, but just because it normally starts in the lungs, doesn't mean it always does." Foreman replied.

"Fine, fine. Go run your useless tests while Kat gets the patient's permission." House rolled his eyes. "Foreman, you run blood tests for Cryptococcosis and Lyme disease. Kutner you go search for a nice red rash on the patient's body. Thirteen, keep Kat company. Once you two get his permission, go to his house." House dismissed them.

"What about me?" Taub asked.

"I don't care. Go cover for Kat in the ER, where she's supposed to be working." House retorted.

Kat glared. "I have checked on the ER. Today is pretty slow, and Cameron knows she should page me if that changes." She said coldly.

House frowned. _She's too good at her job._ "Go." He waved his team out of the room.

Kat lingered as the team filed out. Remy waited for her at the door. "You need to work on your manners. Try a please every once and a while. Maybe, consider not being a jackass for once." Her stony gaze cut through him and he flinched.

Kat left the room without another word and Remy followed after her. Once they were clear of the office, Kat turned to Remy. "Does he normally have you break into patients' houses?"

Remy nodded. "Yep. Breaking and entering seems to be one of his favorite pastimes."

"How has he not gotten arrested yet?" Kat asked incredulously.

"Rumor has it he was once for the drugs, but I guess they let him off." Remy shrugged.

"Shame." Kat muttered under her breath.

"Huh?" Remy looked sidelong at her as they walked down the hallway.

"Nothing. I was just…" Kat was cut off by the beeping of her pager. A second later Remy's pager went off too. "It's Jon!" Kat and Remy took off down the hallway at a run. The rounded the corner and saw Kutner and Foreman holding Jon down.

"What's going on?" Kat asked as she entered the room.

"I was taking his blood and he seemed really confused and disoriented. He started asking where he was. Next thing I knew he was seizing." Foreman informed her.

"Jon? Jon." Kat tried to help Foreman and Kutner. After a minute the seizure stopped. "Jon? Can you talk to me? How do you feel?" Kat pulled the pen light out of her pocket and shined it first in one eye then the other. The pupils reacted normally.

"Dr. McManus?" Jon asked meekly.

"It's me. Do you know where you are? Do you know what happened?" Kat checked his pulse.

Jon shook his head. "I'm in the hospital, I know that. One minute these two guys are coming into my room, the next you're in here. What happened?" Jon seemed scared.

"You had a seizure. Do you know if you've ever had a seizure before?" Kat inquired.

Jon shook his head again. "No. Never."

"Jon, could we please have the keys to your house? It's important that we go there to see if there are any possible environmental toxins that could have infected you somehow." Kat requested.

Jon nodded. "Yeah. My keys should be in the pocket of the jeans I was wearing when I was admitted."

"Thanks Jon. I'm going to leave you with these two men. This is Dr. Kutner and Dr. Foreman. They're going to take good care of you while I'm gone. Ok?" Kat tried to reassure the young man, recognizing the fear in his features.

"Thanks Dr. McManus." Jon said.

Kat nodded at him, then she left the room followed closely by Remy.

Foreman and Kutner watched her go. "Wow. It's such a change to see someone with a good bedside manner who actually seems to care about their patients." Foreman commented.

"Yeah. No wonder she doesn't get along well with House." Kutner agreed.


	13. Chapter 13

Kat sighed. So far they'd found nothing at Jon's apartment and she was getting more frustrated by the minute. Somehow she'd let House get under her skin, even though she'd promised herself she wouldn't let that happen. Because of that, she was there in Jon's house looking for toxins or drugs that she was sure weren't there, just because House had her doubting herself and her patient.

"You ok?" Remy asked from across the room.

"Yeah. I just think this is pointless. We're not going to find anything." Kat sighed again and slumped down on the couch to rest. "I should be back at the hospital taking care of Jon."

Remy closed the cabinet under the sink and went over to Kat, taking a seat next to her. "You've got some…fuzz or fluff or something." Remy reached out and pulled the fluff in question out of Kat's hair.

Kat brought her gaze to Remy's face and their eyes met. _God she's got gorgeous eyes!_ Kat thought, not for the first time. She smiled despite the frustrations that the day had thrown at her so far. Remy smiled back at her, fingers still grasping the end of Kat's hair lightly. For a moment they just looked at each other, before Kat laughed nervously and looked away. Remy self consciously tucked the strand of hair in her hand behind Kat's ear and pulled away, clearing her throat.

"Why don't we just go back to the hospital? We looked in all of the places we'd be most likely to find anything and came up empty. House is just going to have to deal with the fact that this time he's wrong." Remy said.

Kat laughed bitterly. "That usually doesn't go over so well with him."

Remy gave her a strange look.

"I'm guessing. From what I've seen so far at least." Kat found herself once again trying to cover up the fact that she knew House better than she was letting on. Remy seemed to accept this as she nodded in agreement.

"So shall we go?" Remy asked, standing and extending a hand out to Kat who took it and pulled herself to a standing position.

"We shall." Kat replied with another smile at Remy. _Do not become too attached to this girl too fast! You're treating her like one of your best friends already, and she's not. You haven't even known her a week! Get it together!_

________________________  
_

"Dr. McManus, he's getting worse." A young nurse told Kat as she approached Jon's room first thing the next morning.

"What?" Kat's voice rose in alarm. She hurried down the corridor into Jon's room.

"House came in and gave him prednisone late last night after you left. Seems he slipped into a coma during the night." Kutner informed her, standing away from the patient

"What???" Rage now filled Kat's voice. "Shit!"

"I paged House. He's on his way. The others too." Kutner told her, but she ignored him.

Her first concern was the patient. She examined the charts and then began to examine Jon.

Remy, Taub, and Foreman entered the room and turned to Kutner for answers. Kutner repeated the story and the other three exchanged a look. This was not good.

Kat noticed some swelling behind Jon's ear and turned his head. His lymph nodes were swollen. The sound of a familiar limp, made Kat finally turn away from the patient.

"You gave him prednisone, after I expressly told you not to? You almost killed him! Look at his lymph nodes. He's fighting off an infection and you just severely compromised his immune system. What were you thinking? Do you have to be right so badly that you can't even consider the opinions of other doctors? Why do you even have a team? Just to have people to boss around?" Kat went off at him, venom dripping from her words.

House stood back in shock. He could see that Kat was right, the patient's lymph nodes were indeed quite swollen. "I didn't think that you had considered my theory adequately. The seizure could clearly have been an adverse reaction to some drug that the patient ingested at home or we gave him here. Prednisone was to counteract the reaction."

"And I pointed out that there were no drugs at home besides the ibuprofen and some vitamin C!" Kat argued. "And why do you always call him the patient? Do you even know his name?"

House had no response. He just looked dumbly at Kat. He was well aware that if looks could kill, he'd be dead as a doornail.

"You don't do you. It's Jon. That's the name of the man you put into a coma. Jon." Kat spat at him.

House took a step towards the patient. "Let me correctly diagnose him now." House was almost pleading.

Kat cut off House's path and held his gaze with an icy glare. "Get out! Now!" Kat's voice was low, but her tone was deadly. "You've done enough damage."

House remembered Kat's mother saying the same thing to him years before. House's gaze fell. He turned and limped out of the room, defeated. He didn't bother to look behind him. He knew that Kat was right.

Remy and Foreman exchanged a shocked glance. House normally didn't back away and they'd never seen anyone stand up to him the way that Kat just had.

Kat turned back to her patient, blocking out any thoughts of her uncle. If she focused on wanting to kill him, she might not be able to save Jon. "He's clearly got some infection. The seizure, the fever, the prolonged headaches, the disorientation. It's got to be in his brain, but it probably didn't originate there. If it's a brain abscess it could have easily originated somewhere else nearby." Kat thought aloud.

"Sinusitis." Kutner suggested timidly, not wanting to get on Kat's bad side.

"He probably would have mentioned sinus pain." Kat shook her head.

"Not necessarily. He might have lumped it with head pain." Taub countered.

Kat conceded the point.

"Gingivitis." Remy said.

Kat's head shot up and she looked at Remy. That made sense. "That's good. Most people don't think twice about a simple gum infection. Not to mention it's kind of embarrassing. He probably wouldn't have mentioned it. He may not have even seen a doctor for it."

Remy crossed to the patient and examined his mouth. "Gums are inflamed." Remy confirmed.

"Ok, start him on Metranizadole in a sodium chloride IV." Kat ordered.

"What about the prednisone in his system?" Foreman asked.

"What choice do we have? We have to treat him or he'll die. We've stopped the prednisone, so now we just have to wait and see." Kat replied.

Kutner rushed to start the medicine as Kat left the room. She needed a break, needed to breathe. Her rage at her uncle was just barely controlled inside of her. She kept walking, unsure of where she was heading. At the end of the hallway she took the stairs up. Kat was in her own world and it was taking all of her effort not to scream. If Jon died it would be House's fault, but it would be hers too for leaving him alone with House, for not fighting harder when House stole him as a patient.

Kat found herself on the roof before she knew it. She couldn't say she was surprised, she'd always gone to the roof of her apartment building during med school when she'd been stressed or upset. Something about being up high, looking out over the world, and breathing the fresh air always calmed her down. She went to the ledge, closed her eyes and breathed in deeply. It didn't help. She still wanted to punch her uncle.

"You ok?"

Kat turned and saw Remy's concerned face behind her. "Yeah." Kat lied.

Remy raised a skeptical eyebrow as she approached.

"I'm fine." Kat lied again. _You don't need to go dumping your problems on someone you met not even a week ago just because you feel inexplicably close to her!_

Remy came and leaned against the ledge next to Kat, eyeing her pensively. "You're lying."

Kat sighed. "I just…I wanna kill him! I mean how can he do that? How does he get away with pulling stunts like that?" Kat vented.

"You can't let him get to you. Just ignore him. It's the best way to get by." Remy advised.

"It's because people ignore him that he thinks he can get away with shit like this!" Kat just couldn't let this go. She knew first hand that ignoring solved nothing. It was House ignoring her illness that led to her getting as sick as she did. He'd almost killed her then, and it remained to be seen whether or not he'd killed her patient now.

"Trust me, I don't think he feels like he got away with it this time. You laid into him like I've never seen anyone do before." Remy assured her.

Kat laughed bitterly. "That's not even half of what I wanted to do to him!"

The wind blew up and Kat's hair blew into her eyes. Remy reached out with a sympathetic smile on her face and brushed Kat's hair out of her face and tucked it behind her ear. "Don't let him get under your skin. It's the only way to survive here."

Kat gazed into Remy's eyes for the second time in as many days. Suddenly her anger began to melt away. She swallowed hard. "Yeah. You're probably right." She replied without breaking eye contact.

Remy felt captivated by Kat's piercing green eyes. She suddenly felt self conscious about being so close to her. She realized that her hand was still lingering in Kat's silky hair, right by her face. _What are you doing? You just met her! And you like her! And her friends! And you don't really have any friends here! If you try to hook up with her or something, you're just going to ruin it!_ Remy pulled her hand away a little faster than she needed to. She cleared her throat self-consciously. "Sorry."

Kat looked away and ran her hand through her hair, feeling nervous all of a sudden. "No. I'm sorry. I shouldn't be complaining to you. You have to deal with him all the time."

"It's fine. Everyone deserves to vent about House every once and a while." Remy said.

"Yeah, but you don't even know me, and I'm…Sorry." Kat bit her lip. The whole situation was starting to get to her, starting a new job, having a patient on the brink of death, having an asshole for an uncle who she was supposed to more or less babysit, and then her internal argument about letting Remy in. The stress just kept building up.

"Don't be." Remy was genuinely concerned. Kat seemed so upset and Remy desperately wanted to help. "Hey, look on the bright side. We're going out with your friends this weekend and it's away from the hospital and it's away from House. You have no idea how much I'm looking forward to it."

"True." Kat managed a smile. "True." She sighed deeply. I should probably get back downstairs and check on Jon and then head back to the ER. I feel like I've kind of abandoned Cameron down there."

"She'd have paged if she needed help."

"Yeah, but still..." Kat trailed off. "I should get back."

"Me too. Hey, if you want me to keep an eye on Jon's condition while you're in the ER…" Remy offered.

"Yeah. That'd be great. Thanks." Kat smiled then headed back to the entrance to the roof.

"No problem." Remy mumbled as she watched Kat walk away. _God she's hot!_ Remy shook her head. _Or not. No. Not._ She cleared her throat then followed Kat back inside.


	14. Chapter 14

"I cannot work like this!" House announced as he threw open Cuddy's office door.

Cuddy looked up from her phone call and rolled her eyes. "I'm going to have to call you back. There's…an emergency here." She hung up. "What do you want House?"

"Call her off."

"Call who off?" Cuddy asked innocently.

"You know damn well who. She…she's undermining my authority. I can't work with her around! Because of her I almost killed a patient." House fumed.

"You almost killed her patient?" Cuddy's eyes widened in dismay.

"_My_ patient! And weren't you listening? It's her fault!" House corrected.

"It's _her_ patient, and tell me what happened." Cuddy countered.

"She wouldn't listen to my ideas so I had to treat him without her knowing and it turned out to be the wrong treatment." House sulked.

"Well how's the patient doing?" Cuddy inquired.

"What? He's fine. Well, no…but he might be. According to Taub, Kat diagnosed him and has started him on the correct treatment. But you're missing the point!" House whined.

"The point is that you screwed up and almost killed a patient and Dr. McManus was right and is trying to save him, but you think it's her fault that he's on the brink of death anyway." Cuddy explained the situation to the best of her understanding.

"Exactly!" House exclaimed emphatically.

"House, while I'm sure your logic makes perfect sense to you, it makes absolutely none to me. I shouldn't call Dr. McManus off. I should clearly encourage her to supervise you more."

"You can't do that! I don't need supervision!" House argued.

"That is one thing that you most definitely do need House! You proved that by almost killing the patient, just because Dr. McManus shot down your idea! You acted like a sulking child! Grow up House. Until you do, your niece will be your babysitter." Cuddy informed him.

"What? You…How could…You can't do that to me!" House stammered.

"I can and I have." Cuddy effectively dismissed him.

House was speechless for once. How was he supposed to do his work with Kat looking over his shoulder? Sure Cuddy didn't know why House couldn't deal with having his niece around, but she had obviously seen the effect Kat had on him. _Shit!_ House popped a vicodin and left Cuddy's office deep in thought.

____________________________________

Kat headed to Jon's room first thing Friday morning. She'd checked right before she'd left work the night before too, just like she had the two days before when there'd been no change. Jon was still comatose when Remy had called to update Kat last night at nine before she'd headed home too. Kat had been checking on him compulsively, willing him to fight the infection in his body, willing him to live.

Every time Kat saw Jon laying there so helplessly, her rage at House reemerged. Someone really needed to teach him a lesson. He just couldn't get away with shit like this. Kat just hoped that House's self-righteousness wouldn't cost Jon his life.

Kat saw House lingering outside of Jon's room when she rounded the last corner. _What's he doing here?_ She fumed. She sped up down the hallway to confront him. "What the hell do you think you're doing here? I told you to stay the hell away from my patient!" Kat hissed vehemently at him.

"I haven't gone in the room, I was just checking on him." House nodded towards the patient.

Kat's eyes followed his and widened. Jon was awake! Kat left House and strode into the room.

"Dr. McManus." Jon smiled weakly at her.

"Hi Jon. It's nice to have you back. How do you feel?" Kat asked him, taking the chart from the nurse who'd been caring for him.

"Like I've been to hell and back."

Kat laughed lightly. "Well I'm just glad you're awake. I assume Nurse Ackley told you what happened?"

"Yeah. She said I had some brain infection and I went into a coma. She said I was lucky to be alive. I told her I was lucky to have you as a doctor." Jon replied.

Kat smiled genuinely back at him. "Well, you're lucky that the medication seems to be doing what it's meant to do." Kat checked inside Jon's mouth and felt his lymph nodes. The swelling had gone down substantially. She looked at his charts and was pleased by what she saw. "You look good. You're doing great."

"Thanks Dr. McManus." Jon said sincerely.

"You're very welcome." Kat replied with a big grin on her face. "Do you need anything?"

"Nope. I'm good. Nurse Ackley's taking good care of me." Jon nodded towards the nurse.

"Good. Well I've gotta head to the ER, see if I'm needed." Kat turned and started to walk to the door.

"Dr. McManus?" Jon asked tentatively.

"Yeah?" Kat turned back to face him.

"Who was that guy who was hanging out just outside of my room before, like when you got here? He came into my room before, and gave me some medication. He said you sent him." Jon inquired.

"Well, I didn't. He's another doctor in the hospital." Kat told him.

"Oh. I didn't like him." Jon said.

"He can be…abrasive. It's ok. He's not treating you anymore because now you're on the mend!"

Jon smiled. "Yep. Thanks."

"No problem." Kat replied then left the room.

______________________________

House had heard parts of the conversation between Kat and Jon. He'd seen the way that she treated him and the way that he'd reacted to her. Kat was a good doctor. House couldn't deny that anymore. And she seemed to be the furthest thing from him possible. House couldn't help but wonder if that was on purpose, or if it was just who Kat was. He suspected that it was probably a mixture of the two. House felt extremely relieved that Jon was recovering. If Jon had died, then Kat would have had two things to hold against him forever and even more reason to hate him. House couldn't stand having Kat around because it constantly reminded him of his failure, and he didn't like to fail.

House popped a vicodin as he turned and headed back to his office, Jon's words running through his mind. "I told her I was lucky to have you as a doctor." That's what Jon'd said to his niece. He was right. House sighed. _And Kat almost wasn't alive to be his doctor because of you. What would have happened then?_ House decided that he needed an extra vicodin to deal with the pain of his memories. _Don't screw up the next one House. Prove to her you're a good doctor._

__________________________________  
_

"Hey! I saw that Jon was awake. You must be really happy! You saved his life!" Remy greeted Kat.

"Yeah. I've gotta say, I'm really relieved he's recovering so well." Kat smiled.

"Remind me I'll have to buy you a congratulatory drink tonight." Remy said.

Kat laughed. "Ok. I'll do that."

"Oh, hey…So I took the bus to work today cause my car decided to break down on the way home yesterday. Do you think you could possibly give me a ride tonight?"

"Yeah. Definitely. Not a problem. Do you have clothes to change into? Cause we can just leave from here if that's the case. If not we can drop by your place first." Kat offered.

"No. It's fine. I've got clothes." Remy replied.

"Ok great, so you want to meet in the ER when you're done and then we'll head back to my place to pick up Jenny and maybe eat so we don't drink on an empty stomach?" Kat suggested.

"Sounds like a plan. As long as House doesn't decide to be an ass and keep us late for some reason, like because he's mad that he was wrong about a diagnosis." Remy said.

"Don't worry about him. Just leave. What's he gonna do? Fire you? Somehow I think Cuddy would be on your side." Kat replied. _And I'll give him hell for torturing you and the others when he's the one who screwed up._ She added to herself.

"True, I guess. Well, let's hope for the best." Remy smiled at Kat.

Kat smiled back, finding Remy's smile infectious. "Let's." She agreed, enthralled by Remy's pearly whites.

"See you later." Remy touched Kat's hand for a second before walking past her. The brief contact left Kat's hand tingling for a minute. _No. No. No!_ She scolded herself. _She's an acquaintance…maybe becoming a friend._


	15. Chapter 15

"Hey you two!" Jenny greeted Kat and Remy with a big hug and a kiss on the cheek for each of them.

"Hey." Remy smiled.

"My patient's ok!" Kat beamed.

"The one House put into a coma?" Jenny asked.

"Yep." Kat replied.

"Awesome. So he's out of the coma?"

"Yep! My treatment worked!" Kat couldn't help feeling proud of herself.

"Congrats babe!" Jenny hugged Kat again.

"Thanks." Kat grinned.

"Ok, well then we definitely need to go out and have some fun tonight." Jenny declared.

"Definitely." Remy seconded with a glance at Kat that did not go unnoticed by Jenny.

"Remy, if you need to change, the bathroom's down the hall on the right. Kat, come on…There's no way you're wearing jeans and a T-shirt out tonight. We're celebrating. You're borrowing one of my shirts." Jenny grabbed Kat by the hand and dragged her down the hallway to her bedroom while Kat glanced back imploringly at Remy.

"Help!"

Remy just laughed and put up her hands indicating there was nothing she could do.

Jenny sat Kat down at the edge of her bed and then began to rummage through her closet. "No, no, no, no….Maybe." Jenny threw a purple shirt in Kat's general direction. "No, no, definitely not….Possibly." Another shirt landed on the bed by Kat. "Try those on…I'll keep looking."

Kat sighed and took off her shirt and tried on the purple one that Jenny had thrown at her first. "No. I'm not wearing this!"

Jenny turned around and whistled. "Look at you all sexy!"

Kat blushed. "Oh, shut up. I'm not wearing this." Kat started to take the shirt off again.

"Hold on. Hey Remy! Are you busy?" Jenny yelled.

"No. Come on. Don't be a pest." Kat pleaded.

"Hmm?" Remy appeared in the doorway then spotted Kat. "Wow."

Kat's blush deepened. "You're gonna pay for that." Kat muttered to Jenny who just grinned back at her.

"Doesn't she look good?" Jenny asked Remy.

Remy just nodded. She couldn't take her eyes off of Kat.

"It's too low cut. I'm not gonna wear it." Kat said firmly.

"But it shows off your boobs!" Jenny pointed out. "And you've got nice boobs. I know you like hiding them under a lab coat, but we're going out tonight."

Kat frowned.

"Fine. Try the other shirt on." Jenny relented slightly and returned to searching through her closet.

Relieved, Kat peeled off the shirt and reached for the other one without even thinking about Remy being in the room.

Remy's eyes opened wide and she turned away, cheeks flushing slightly. She stared intently at the floor as if memorizing each thread of the carpet.

"Ok this one's a little better." Kat announced, glancing first at Jenny then at Remy. _Shit, I just changed in front of her. You need to be more aware of your surroundings Kat! At least she wasn't watching._

Remy looked up and repeated her earlier assessment. "Wow. You look good."

Kat was wearing a green v-neck shirt that was still low-cut, but not as much as the purple one had been.

"Well…The green compliments your eyes nicely, and your boobies still look good and are still accentuated." Jenny scrutinized the outfit and pushed up Kat's boobs a little before Kat swatted her away. "I approve. You look hot! Now for some makeup." Jenny again grabbed Kat's hand and dragged her to the bathroom.

Kat considered protesting, but knew a) that it would be no good, and b) that Jenny did makeup better than she did. Kat perched on the closed toilet as Jenny removed the small amount of makeup that Kat wore to work on a daily basis and then patiently applied heavier makeup.

"There. Perfect!" Jenny said finally.

Kat looked in the mirror and was pleased by what she saw. Jenny always made her eyes really pop, and Jenny had been right, the green shirt set off her green eyes really well. Kat caught Jenny's reflection and saw that she was waiting expectantly for a reaction. "I like it. Thanks Jen!"

"You're welcome babe!" Jenny's face broke into a grin. She liked it when Kat let her do her makeup. "Ok go get shoes."

Kat wondered down the hallway to her bedroom to find suitable shoes and Jenny scampered off to her room and threw on the purple shirt that Kat had rejected. Having done her makeup earlier, she turned and wandered out to the living room. She saw Remy browsing the pictures that they had up in the apartment. She was lingering on Kat's college graduation picture, Jenny noticed. "She looked nice, huh?"

Remy jumped and looked guilty. "Umm…Yeah."

"I can't help noticing that you haven't changed yet." Jenny pointed out.

"Sorry. I just…"

"You were perusing the pictures. Don't worry about it. You might wanna go change now though, 'cause Kat's almost ready." Jenny nodded towards the bedrooms.

"Right. Ok. Be right back." Remy grabbed her bag and walked tentatively down the hall to the bathroom.

Jenny collapsed onto the couch. She'd really miss this place when she moved. She'd miss Kat most of all though. Jenny sighed. She couldn't help feeling a bit sad. _Who's gonna make sure Remy and Kat hook up when you leave?_ Jenny's wistfulness was replaced by mischievousness when a thought struck her. _I'll just have to make sure they're headed in the right direction before I leave!_ She grinned to herself.

"What're you looking so smug about?" Kat asked as she entered the living room and took a seat by her friend.

"Oh, nothing. I'm just happy that I'm going out with my best friend tonight. That's all." Jenny lied.

"Yeah. Right." Kat knew better.

"You know you do look hot tonight."

"You think?" Kat glanced down at her outfit.

"Definitely. And I'm pretty sure Remy agrees with me." Jenny said.

Kat looked sharply at Jenny. "What makes you say that?"

"I dunno. Maybe that she said 'Wow. You look good.' Or maybe it was how she kept staring at you." Jenny shrugged.

"She did not. Shut up." Kat hit Jenny with a small pillow that was laying on the couch.

Jenny shrugged again.

Remy emerged from the bathroom, having touched up her makeup and put on a low cut blue shirt with some sequins across the neckline. Kat's breath caught.

"Wow! Look at you! Very sexy!" Jenny gave Remy a thumbs up sign.

Remy blushed. "Thanks."

Jenny looked at Kat expectantly and nudged her in the side. Kat let out her breath and glared at Jenny before turning back to Remy. "You look great!"

Jenny rolled her eyes. "Nice understatement." She whispered to Kat who elbowed her. "Shall we go?" Jenny said louder.

"Sure." Remy said. "Is it alright if I leave my stuff here and then come back and get it after the bar?"

"Come back and get it to do what with? You're staying here tonight. The bars within walking distance and none of us is gonna be sober enough to drive by night's end." Jenny dismissed any protests that Remy might have had.

Remy looked at Kat who shrugged. Kat knew that once Jenny's mind was made up, it was impossible to change it.

"Ok." Remy replied.

Kat and Jenny stood and together with Remy they filed out of the door, locking it behind them.

Jenny put and arm around Kat's and Remy's shoulders. "Let's go have fun tonight. Last big night out with Eliza and Claudia. Let's make it a good one."


	16. Chapter 16

Kat grinned as she watched Claudia and Eliza tease each other. Her face fell slightly as she realized that this might be the last time that she and the two of them and Jenny were all together. She felt a hand on her arm and looked up into the sympathetic face of Remy.

"You ok?" Remy asked softly.

Kat nodded and put on a smile.

Remy knew what was bothering Kat. She could understand. She'd miss great friends like these too. Remy glanced to the small dance floor in the corner of the bar. "Wanna dance?" she asked, hoping that it'd take Kat's mind off the negatives of what this evening represented.

Kat raised an eyebrow at Remy and shrugged. "Sure."

Remy grinned and grabbed Kat's hand, leading her towards the dance floor. Kat soon got caught up in the beat of the music and forgot her sadness. There was something comfortable and at the same time exhilarating about dancing with Remy.

Remy moved closer to Kat and slid her arm around her waist. She felt her heart rate quicken.

Kat looked up and caught Remy gazing at her. Their eyes met and Remy felt her heart skip a beat. _No. This is not happening. You do not have a crush on her. _She pulled away slightly, but her eyes were still captured by Kat's stunning green ones. _It'd be so easy to kiss her right now._ Remy couldn't help thinking. _And then you'd ruin everything. So how about you not do that?_

Kat felt as though electricity was flowing through her veins while she was dancing with Remy. She felt like she had heightened senses. She could feel every time Remy brushed against her. She was acutely aware of Remy's hand on her side. She could smell the faint scent of Remy's perfume clearly mingled with the smell of sweat and alcohol that pervaded the dance floor. The perfume was sweet and intoxicating. She inched closer to Remy, drawn in by the piercing blue eyes. _She moves so well._ Kat noticed appreciably. _Her body's incredible._

The song ended and a slow ballad sung out next. Kat was aware of singles and groups of girls leaving the dance floor as couples came out. She felt Remy's hand pull away from her side and couldn't help feeling slightly taken aback by the cold air that hit her in the hand's absence.

Remy grinned awkwardly at Kat. "Guess we should go sit down, huh?"

Kat blinked hard, coming out of the trance that the music and Remy's movements and eyes seemed to have put her under. She nodded. "Yeah. Don't want to abandon the friends for too long. It's always possible they'll get at each other's throats and really have a fight."

Remy laughed as the two headed back to the table. "Somehow I don't see any of you staying horribly mad at each other for very long."

"Oh, you'd be amazed at the grudges some of us can hold."

"Hey you two. Looked like you were having fun out there on the dance floor." Jenny greeted them with a raised eyebrow as they sat back down.

Kat blushed slightly but rolled her eyes at her friend. They'd been dancing. That was all. That was her story and she was sticking to it. "Dancing is fun. You should try it."

"Uh-huh." Jenny replied, her voice betraying her disbelief as she wiggled her eyebrows at her friend.

Kat glared and turned to Eliza. "I can't believe you're leaving tomorrow. I'm gonna miss you so much."

"Seems like you've got someone great to keep you company when I'm gone." Eliza nodded towards Remy whose cheeks flushed in embarrassment.

"True, but who's going to get under Claudia's skin as well as you do? And you two just provide excellent entertainment!" Kat teased.

"Claudia's only around for another week," Eliza pointed out. "What I can't believe is that you four are gonna go out again next week as a goodbye for Claudia and I'm not going to be here to enjoy it with you! I'm gonna be all by myself in Baltimore with no one to hang out with or go out with."

"Well, serves you right for leaving," Kat replied.

Eliza stuck out her lower lip in a pout and Jenny put an arm around her. "It's ok. We'll come visit."

"Promise?" Eliza sounded like a little kid.

"Promise," Jenny replied.

Eliza broke into a grin. It was a game they all played: the childlike voices and behavior while someone else played the adult. They all found it amusing. Kat was pleased to see Remy giggling softly at the display that had just taken place.

"Ok, next round's on me," Remy said as she stood from the table and headed to the bar.

"I'll help carry," Jenny offered.

Kat's head shot up at that. She wasn't sure she trusted Jenny alone with Remy. Jenny liked to stir up trouble…ok, well maybe not trouble…but….Kat stood up. "I'll help too." Kat knew that Jenny probably had inklings that she might kinda, but not really, like Remy. Kat was worried that Jenny would say something to Remy and blow the friendship that they had just started developing. _But it shouldn't matter, because you don't really like her. Not like that. You can't. She's your colleague. On top of that she works for your uncle._ Kat reminded herself.

____________________________

The night flowed on with a constant supply of booze and laughter. Around one a.m. Kat found her eyelids growing heavier and heavier. "Ok, I don't know about anyone else, but I'm wiped. This week has been really draining."

"But it's my last night out!" Eliza complained.

"Yeah, speaking of that, aren't you leaving town tomorrow afternoon? Don't you have to be sober by then?" Jenny asked.

"You have to be sober to move?" Eliza played dumb.

"It might help for lifting the boxes and stuff like that," Remy pointed out.

"Plus if you're hungover, which based on the amount you've drunk you probably will be at least slightly, then tomorrow's gonna suck," Claudia added. "And as one of the people who's helping you load the moving truck tomorrow, I vote we call it a night."

"Oh, alright," Eliza relented begrudgingly. "But when you guys come visit me in Baltimore we're staying out all night. Ok?"

"Ok," Claudia, Jenny and Kat chorused.

Eliza looked at Remy. "You won't stay out all night with us?" she asked expectantly.

Remy's eyes widened in surprise. She hadn't realized that she'd been included in the invite to visit. "Oh…uh…Yeah! Of course I will! I just didn't realize…"

"That you were invited? Of course you are! I dunno if you've picked up on this or not, but you've officially been adopted into our little family here," Jenny informed her.

Remy smiled. It felt nice to be accepted. It felt nice to have real friends again. "Thanks," she said quietly with a bit of a blush.

"Ok, let's head out," Eliza sighed. She captured each friend in a long, goodbye hug before heading out of the bar with Claudia.

"Shall we?" Jenny asked, her usual perkiness somewhat tamed by the sadness of the goodbye.

"Yep," Kat confirmed. She linked arms with Jenny then went to link arms with Remy, who stood off a little.

"Are you sure you guys want me to stay tonight?" Remy asked.

"Yes. Come on!" Kat replied taking Remy's arms and heading towards the door.

"The only question is where you're going to sleep. There's the ever uncomfortable couch, my bed with me, or Kat's bed with her. They're big beds. It wouldn't be a problem," Jenny said.

Remy laughed nervously. "The couch is fine. I can sleep at work in the on call room, I can sleep on an uncomfortable couch."

"Suit yourself," Jenny replied with a shrug. _They're both trying to undermine my plan._ She thought to herself as they left the bar.

______________________

Kat didn't know why, but despite her exhaustion she was having trouble sleeping. Her brain simply refused to shut off. There were too many things going on in her mind. There was the issue of House, the growing friendship with Remy complicated by some sexual attraction though Kat was trying to deny it, the fact that her friends were moving away, not to mention the financial problems she was facing. Kat looked at her clock. Three a.m. She decided to go get a drink from the kitchen. She tiptoed down the hall to the living room and could make out the slender form of Remy lying on the couch thanks to the moonlight trickling in through the windows. Kat started to tiptoe on to the kitchen, when Remy's voice broke the stillness of the night.

"Hey," she said softly.

"Hey," Kat straightened and approached the couch. "Can't sleep?"

Remy shook her head. "No. I hate to admit it, but this couch might be more uncomfortable than the cots in the on call room."

Kat laughed. "It's pretty bad. It's fine for sitting, but it's far too used and abused for sleeping."

"What about you? You can't sleep either?"

"Nope. Although in my case it's not a comfort issue. I've just got a lot going on so my brain's refusing to turn off," Kat explained.

"Wanna sit?" Remy asked, pulling her legs up so that Kat would have room.

"I've got a better idea. How about we go back to my room? My bed's really plenty big for the both of us, and then maybe you at least could get some sleep," Kat offered.

Remy's heart sped up a little and she felt her stomach tighten. "Yeah…Ok. On one condition. You have to tell me about some of the stuff that's keeping you awake so maybe you can sleep too."

Kat smiled. "Deal. Just let me get a glass of water from the kitchen." Kat crossed to the kitchen and got a glass out of the cupboard then went to the sink and flipped down the water filter. As she filled her glass she felt herself growing nervous. _You just invited Remy into your bed. And you're trying not to like her…well as anything more than a friend. Don't screw up tonight!_ She turned off the water and headed back to the living room where Remy was standing waiting for her. She led Remy down the hallway to her room, put her glass down on the bedside table, and got in bed. Remy slid into the other side of the bed self consciously.

The two lay next to each other, staring at the ceiling and carefully not touching each other.

"So…" Remy broke the silence. "You going to share or what?"

Kat's heart sped up. "I…It's a lot of things."

"Name a few."

"Ok, well Claudia, Eliza, and Jenny all leaving for one," Kat began.

"Yeah. That's gotta be tough."

"It is. I mean we've known each other for six years now. And Jenny especially. We've been roommates for the past four years. She's like my sister. And now she's going to be off in New York."

"Yeah. That would suck." Remy glanced sideways at Kat who was still staring at the ceiling and felt her stomach tighten.

"It definitely, definitely does. And then there's work and fucking House. He's just so…argh! I don't even know. I don't know if I can keep dealing with him," Kat groaned.

"So don't. I mean you can't let him get under your skin, but you don't have to deal with him that much really. You just did last week because he stole your patient, right?"

Kat bit her lip. She didn't want to give too much away. At the same time she didn't want to lie to Remy. "He's…I…Cuddy thinks I can control him somewhat so she's asked me to kind of help keep tabs on him and keep track of his cases. Unfortunately it looks like I am stuck having to put up with him."

"Ok…Well just block him out. Blow him off. He's just looking for a reaction. Ignore him," Remy suggested.

"Easier said than done," Kat muttered.

"How do you seem to control him so well?" Remy asked.

"Having him almost kill my patient is controlling him well?"

"No, but he definitely seems to listen to you more than to anyone else," Remy replied.

Kat shrugged. "I dunno."

Remy got the distinct impression that Kat was holding something back, but she decided not to push the issue. "So what else is bothering you?"

"Just the stress of starting a new job, having my best friends leave," _You!_ Kat added in her head, "and then there's the always fun financial issues."

"Ah, yeah. I know what you mean there. I'm still paying off my stupid med school loans," Remy sympathized.

"Yeah. I have all of them to pay off, plus the rent here's ridiculous and I don't think I can manage without Jenny, plus car payments, insurance, cable, etc… The list goes on. The more I think about it, the more I think I need to look for a new apartment or a new roommate."

"What about me?" Remy asked before she could stop herself. She didn't know what had prompted her to ask other than that it would certainly ease up her finances too to have a roommate. Still…She'd only known Kat just over a week. _What are you thinking?_

"What?" Kat's eyes widened in surprise.

"I just meant…" Remy coughed and cleared her throat, "that…I dunno. That we could live together. I mean…" Remy cleared her throat again. "My bank account would be a lot better off if I had a roommate, and I actually seem to get along with you. It's not like I really know that many other people in the area besides Kutner, who's a great guy, but I'd never live with, Taub, who's married, House, who's…well House, Cuddy, who's my boss so that's always a bad idea, Cameron, who's got Chase, and Foreman, who…I just can't see that working out well. I dunno. It was stupid. You probably don't want to. I just thought…I mean my place is big enough…kinda. It's a one bedroom, but the living room's big and we could set up screens to kinda create a second bedroom. Although there's only one bathroom and you have to go through my bedroom to get to it…Maybe this really wasn't the best thought out idea."

"Or you could move in here. Take Jenny's room. When's your lease up?" Kat asked.

"I was gonna renew it next month."

"How much do you pay for your place?"

"$1,500 a month," Remy replied.

"If you moved in here then we could split the rent down the middle. $1,050 each a month." You'd save $450 a month and I wouldn't have to pay the whole rent or try to find someone who might drive me insane or parade boyfriend after boyfriend through the apartment," Kat was starting to think that this sounded better and better. _On the other hand it might make things more complicated on that last issue you can't discuss with Remy. But then again, she clearly just thinks of you platonically if she'd consider living with you, so Jenny was obviously wrong, and maybe everything will be fine._ Kat finally found herself getting drowsy. "It's just a thought. Let's sleep on it. But I think it could work," she said as she shut her eyes.

"Yeah…It might," Remy nodded, sensing that Kat was drifting off and finding that she was quite sleepy herself. "Night Kat." Remy inched unconsciously closer to Kat so that their arms touched.

"Night," Kat sighed, consciousness fading fast.

_What are you thinking Remy? This could get awkward if you're not careful!_ She warned herself before she too drifted off into a deep sleep.


	17. Chapter 17

Jenny woke up feeling slightly hungover. She went to the bathroom, brushed her teeth, and headed out to the kitchen to get some food in her to soak up any residual alcohol from the night before. She froze when she saw the empty couch. _Did Remy leave already?_ Jenny looked around and saw Remy's bag lying by the door. _Nope. She's still here. But where is she?_ An impish grin crept across Jenny's face as a thought occurred to her. _No way. They wouldn't have! Kat wouldn't have!_ Jenny tiptoed back down the hallway to Kat's room and opened the door as quietly as she could. Her jaw dropped. _You have got to be kidding me!_

Remy lay in Kat's bed on her back with Kat curled up next to her. Remy had her arms around Kat who had one leg over one of Remy's. Jenny raised one eyebrow as she leaned against the door frame, taking in the scene. She contemplated waking the pair up, but decided against it. She headed back to the kitchen, leaving Kat's door open. She started making toast, eggs, and bacon, figuring that the smell of food would probably rouse her two friends. Five minutes later, she was rewarded by the sound of movement in the hallway.

Kat shuffled into the kitchen, rubbing her eyes and yawning. "Yum. Breakfast," she said as she patted her growling stomach.

"Well, good morning sleepy head. How'd you sleep?" Jenny asked with a grin.

Kat glanced at the clock. It was almost noon. "Ok, I guess."

"Have any company?" Jenny's grin grew wider.

Kat rolled her eyes as she swatted at her friend with her hand. "You brat! You checked up on us!"

"I was just surprised to find an empty couch when I woke up. That's all," Jenny tried to be innocent.

"Yeah. Right. Sure. We just slept, you know. There's nothing more going on. You're reading too much in to all of this."

"I'm sure," Jenny's grin returned.

Kat swatted at Jenny again.

Remy appeared in the kitchen doorway at that point and Jenny decided to shut up.

"Good morning," Remy said kind of sheepishly. She wasn't deaf. She'd heard the exchange between Kat and Jenny. Remy was well aware that Jenny wasn't really reading too much into the situation. Remy did like Kat. She was having a harder and harder time denying that fact. Waking up in bed next to Kat, definitely hadn't helped the situation. She was fighting it though. She could tell that Kat just wanted to be friends, and she respected that. Besides they barely knew each other. And if they were really going to move in together, hooking up would be one of the worst ideas possible.

Kat glanced shyly at Remy. She'd been surprised when she'd opened her eyes to find herself mere inches away from Remy's serene face. Her stomach had flipped. She hadn't known quite what to do, but the smell of the food coming from the kitchen had been so enticing that she hadn't been able to resist finally moving and getting out of bed.

"Good morning. Did you sleep well?" Jenny inquired.

"Yeah. Thanks," Remy replied.

"Kat's bed's a lot more comfy than the couch, huh?" Jenny prompted again.

"Definitely," Remy agreed.

"I hope she didn't snore too loud," Jenny grinned wickedly.

"You brat!" Kat retaliated by smacking her friend in the arm. "I don't snore!"

"She didn't. I'm pretty sure," Remy confirmed.

"Thank you," Kat smiled at Remy then glared at Jenny.

The three stood there in a somewhat awkward silence for a minute before Jenny said, "Well I'm gonna go put this food on the table. You two get your drinks and I'll meet you in there." She picked up the plateful of bacon and the dish of eggs and carried them out of the kitchen.

Kat reached up and got two glasses out of the cupboard. "What do you want to drink?"

"Water's fine," Remy replied. "Umm…about last night…what we talked about…Were you serious?"

"What thing last night?" Jenny asked coming back into the kitchen and grabbing the toast.

Kat hesitated. "You're not gonna let me not tell you, are you?"

"Nope!" Jenny replied.

"I suggested she move in here when you move," Kat explained.

Jenny's jaw dropped.

"I think in all fairness I suggested you move in with me, and then we decided my place wasn't quite suited for having two people living there, what with the lack of second bedroom and the one bathroom being only accessible through my room," Remy piped up.

"Who needs a second bedroom? Clearly you two can share a bed," Jenny pointed out with a wicked grin.

Kat glared. "That'd make it awkward if the other one wanted to, I dunno, bring someone home or something. Dontcha think?"

Jenny rolled her eyes and shot Kat a skeptical look.

Remy bit her lower lip. She hadn't brought home anyone for a while. Was Kat thinking about bringing someone home? Who? Did Kat do that often? She didn't seem the type, but then again Remy didn't know her that well.

"When was the last time you brought someone home? Huh?" Jenny shot back.

"Shut up," Kat waved Jenny away.

"Well, are you gonna answer Remy's question?" Jenny asked, refusing to leave.

"What question?" Kat had forgotten.

"Whether or not you were serious about her moving in," Jenny replied.

Kat's stomach tightened. She gave Jenny a scathing look, indicating that she should leave the kitchen.

"Right, well I've gotta get this toast to the table. Don't take too long in here or I might eat all the food," Jenny said, taking the hint.

"Well?" Remy asked hesitantly, looking at the floor.

Kat bit her lower lip nervously. She hesitated for a minute and then shrugged. "Yeah. I mean, why not? Economically it makes sense for both of us. Besides this is a nice apartment, and it'll be really lonely when Jenny leaves. Don't renew your lease next month and then move in here when Jenny moves out."

"Yeah?" Remy asked uncertainly.

"Yeah," Kat replied, sounding surer than she felt.

Remy broke into a grin. "Ok. Sounds good."

"Are you two coming?" Jenny called from the other room.

"Yes, yes!" Kat called back, handing one glass to Remy and grabbing some orange juice out of the fridge to fill her own.

They entered the other room together and sat down at the table. They looked up to find Jenny regarding them expectantly. "Well?"

"She's moving in," Kat replied, knowing exactly what Jenny was asking.

Jenny grinned. _On the other hand, maybe I don't have to intervene. Maybe they'll get together on their own. Oh this is gonna be so good! I can't believe I'm leaving and gonna miss all the good stuff!_

Kat raised an eyebrow at her friend. She'd known her long enough to know when she was plotting something, she just didn't know what Jenny was plotting, and that bothered her.

Before Kat could tell her to wipe her smug grin off of her face, Jenny turned her attention to Remy. "So what're your plans for the rest of the day? You could chill with us, if you want."

"I dunno. I didn't really have any plans except for relaxing a bit," Remy replied. "Although, I have to say that I think I need to go home and shower and change clothes."

Jenny waved that comment away. "You can borrow some of ours. I bet Kat's clothes would fit you just fine, and if not, I'm sure I have some stuff that'll fit you. Chill with us. We'll help you relax," Jenny grinned. "We've got some beer. And besides, we have a shower. And if you're gonna be living here, you should spend some time here."

Kat looked at Jenny questioningly. _ What is she up to? _

"Come on. Kat get's to hang out with you forever, but I'm leaving soon and I've grown rather attached to you," Jenny put on a puppy dog face.

Remy laughed. "Yeah. Sure. I'll chill for a while. I've got to get home tonight though."

"K," Jenny grinned at Remy.

Remy turned to Kat who raised her eyebrows and shrugged. "Well, let's get relaxing."

"You're crazy. It's not relaxing time yet. It's food time. Duh!" Jenny corrected reaching for the bacon and serving herself.


	18. Chapter 18

"I cannot believe that I let Jenny talk me in to staying all weekend!" Remy said, rubbing her eyes as she got out of Kat's car Monday morning.

"Ha…Yeah. Jenny's good like that," Kat sympathized as the two headed into the hospital. "I don't think she ever really asked me to move in…I think she just wouldn't let me leave."

"I could see that," Remy laughed. "Thanks for leaving early so we could drop by my place and I could get some clean clothes. And thanks for lending me the shirt."

"No problem," Kat replied. "I can give you a ride home after work if you want. Or do you need a ride to the mechanic that your car's at?"

"Yeah, thanks. That'd be great," Remy smiled at Kat. "And thanks for letting me stay in your bed all weekend."

"Not a problem. The couch really is ridiculously uncomfortable to sleep on," Kat said.

"Morning you two," Cameron greeted Remy and Kat.

"Morning," they replied in unison.

"Did you come to work together?" Cameron asked.

"Remy's car is broken so I gave her a lift," Kat explained, leaving out that Remy had also been at her apartment when they'd woken up that morning. Kat didn't like sharing too much, and she was still feeling out most of her colleagues, including Cameron. She didn't know if she could fully trust the blonde, considering that she'd at one point had feelings for House.

"Ok. I should get upstairs. House probably won't be in yet, but if for some reason he is, and I'm later than him, I'll get in trouble," Remy kissed Kat on the cheek.

"K. See you later," Kat replied. She turned to find Cameron looking at her with a raised eyebrow.

"Are you still claiming that you two don't know each other?"

"I met her the same day I met you," Kat told her honestly.

"Uh-huh. But somehow our friendship doesn't seem to have progressed at quite the same speed," Cameron responded in a skeptical tone.

Kat shrugged. "I dunno. I guess we just have a lot in common?"

"You're asking?"

"No…I mean…I don't know," Kat decided to give in and tell Cameron part of the story. "I ran into Remy when I was out with some friends one night, so I got to spend a little time with her away from the hospital. That's it."

Cameron nodded. That made sense. She couldn't help feeling that there was something more going on though. She liked Kat. She was clearly an extremely capable doctor, and Cameron respected that. She also seemed quite compassionate, which Cameron appreciated. Kat was secretive though, and Cameron wasn't sure why or about what. That made her curious.

Kat picked up some charts from the nurse's station and started rifling through them.

"Oh, I checked in on your patient, Jon, and he's recovering nicely. He should be able to get out of here soon," Cameron informed her.

"Yeah? That's great! I was going to go see him in a bit," Kat replied.

"His vitals are stable, he has no evidence of brain damage, and the antibiotics seem to be working well. As soon as he finishes the course of IV antibiotics he should be good to go."

"Awesome! I bet he'll be happy to hear that!" Kat smiled.

Cameron returned the smile. Kat had done really good work with Jon. Cameron wasn't sure that she could have handled the situation as well. Cameron had also heard that Kat had managed to put House in his place. She'd have liked to have seen that. "Good thing House wasn't his only doctor."

Kat grimaced. "Yeah. No kidding."

Cameron picked up on the grimace. "You really don't like him, do you?"

"Not especially. He needs a reality check. He's not God. Someone needs to remind him of that."

"Well, from what I've heard, you've done a good job of that," Cameron informed her.

Kat shrugged. "Somehow, I don't think it's enough."

A nurse handed Cameron a form that she began to fill out, as Kat continued to peruse the charts of the ER's current patients. "Curtain eleven came in for a splinter?"

"You could call it that. It was embedded about an inch into his hand and there were still a good four inches of wood sticking out of his hand. It wasn't exactly what I'd call small."

"Yikes!" Kat kept reading. She glanced up at Cameron and just couldn't help herself. "Can I ask you a question?"

Cameron looked up from her form. "Yeah. Sure."

"Ok, maybe I'm way off…but I've heard rumors that you used to have a thing for House."

Cameron rolled her eyes and nodded reluctantly. "Yeah. I did. And unfortunately it doesn't seem like I'm ever going to live that down."

"How? I mean…Why?" Kat asked incredulously. "You seem far too intelligent for that."

"Well apparently five years ago I wasn't. Believe me, I'm over it now. I'm actually engaged to Chase," Cameron told her.

"Blonde guy from surgery?"

"Yep," Cameron confirmed.

Kat contemplated the pair as a couple. "Yeah. I can see that. You guys would look cute together."

Cameron grinned. "Thanks. That wasn't exactly House's reaction when he first found out."

Kat rolled her eyes. "I can only imagine."

Cameron laughed. "I have to say, it's really nice not to work for him anymore. I mean I miss it sometimes. The job was exciting and all of the cases were so mysterious, but…working for House sucked. At least here in the ER I feel like I'm really doing some good."

"You are," Kat assured her.

"Thanks. You know what House told me when he found out I worked in the ER? That it was a major step down and I was stupid for taking the job. Well, that and that the blonde hair made me look like a hooker."

"My, what a charmer," Kat said sarcastically. "What color did your hair used to be?"

"Brown. I dyed it shortly after I quit working for House. I needed a change," Cameron explained.

"Well, I like the blonde. I think it looks good on you. And not at all hookerish."

Cameron laughed. "Thanks."

Kat grinned back at her. "No problem." She turned her attention back to the files in front of her. "Guess I should actually get to work, huh?"

Cameron shrugged. "We're pretty slow if you wanna take a minute and get some coffee or something."

"That's ok. I'm good. Where would you recommend I start?"

"Curtain three needs stitches. You can start there," Cameron suggested.

"Sounds good." Kat grabbed the chart and headed over to curtain three.

Cameron watched her go. Kat seemed to be fitting in well. There was still something that Cameron could tell she was holding back. _And why was she so interested in me liking House? She clearly doesn't like him. Unless her open disgust is hiding a secret attraction? I don't think that's it though._ Cameron shrugged and turned back to the form she was filling out.

_____________________________________________________

"They arrived together," House announced as Cuddy marched down the hallway towards him. He was leaning over the railing looking down into the lobby.

"Who?" Cuddy asked confused.

"Kat and Thirteen," House replied as if that should have been obvious.

"Thirteen's car is in the shop. She called on Friday to tell me she might be late for work because she had to catch the bus," Cuddy informed House.

"But why didn't she take the bus today?"

"Maybe because your niece is an actual nice human being who's actually compassionate and she offered to give her a ride?" Cuddy suggested.

House glared at Cuddy. He didn't like that what she said made sense. Kat was a decent human being and offering to give someone a ride was just the type of thing she'd do, if the way she treated her patients was any indication. He wanted something to hold over Kat. Something that'd help him feel less guilty, or just not let her have quite so much control over him. "Be careful how loud you say who she really is. I don't want it getting out that I'm related to human beings. That completely blows my cover as a miracle worker."

"I thought your cover was being an ass," Cuddy replied with a sigh.

"That's my cover for my cover of miracle worker," House explained.

"Right," Cuddy rolled her eyes. "Well, rather than leaving you here to spy all day, you have to put in at least four hours in the clinic today. And by you, I mean you. Not Dr. Kutner. Not Dr. Taub. Not Dr. Hadley."

"Who?"

Cuddy sighed again and grit her teeth. "Thirteen. You yourself, Dr. Gregory House, actually have to go to the clinic and put in the hours. Got it? I'll be checking up on you."

"Yes _mom_!" House replied sounding like a stubborn teenager.

Cuddy shook her head and started to walk away, when an idea struck her. "Actually, I won't check up on you. I think I'll have Kat do it." She strode off down the hallway, quite pleased with herself.

House scowled after her. _Fine. I'll go to the clinic and deal with the sniffly noses. Then Kat won't have anything negative to say._


	19. Chapter 19

"Kat?"

"Dr. Cuddy?" Kat greeted her boss.

"Could you do me a favor, please?"

"Sure, what?" Kat replied without thinking.

"Could you check in on the clinic in about an hour and make sure that your uncle is actually there and actually taking care of patients?" Cuddy requested.

Kat looked around sharply, seeing who was within earshot. "Dr. Cuddy, please could you pretend that you don't know we're related. I try to as much as possible, and I really don't' want word getting out around the hospital."

"Sorry. I'll try to remember that. So will you check up on him please?"

Kat sighed and nodded reluctantly. "Sure."

"Thank you," Cuddy said appreciatively and started to walk away. She stopped and turned. "Did you and Dr. Hadley come to work together this morning?"

Kat wondered how her boss could have possibly known that. "Yeah. Her car's broken."

"Right, yes, she told me that. You should know that House knows you arrived together, though, and he doesn't like accepting simple, rational reasons like that. He'll look for some darker, dirtier, more secretive reason that you arrived together," Cuddy warned her.

Kat rolled her eyes. "Wonderful," she said sarcastically.

"Sorry. I just wanted to give you a heads up. Also, he likes to throw information at people, whether it's true or purely guesswork, and see how they react. The best reaction is no reaction," Cuddy advised.

"You hired me because I can handle him, right? Trust me he won't get the reaction he wants out of me," Kat assured her.

"Why do you control him so well?" Cuddy asked.

"I told you. It's a guilt thing," Kat replied.

"But what guilt? Why? Sorry, but I can't see House feeling guilty about anything."

Kat shrugged. "It's different when you burn family than when you simply make a dumb choice with some patient you barely know. That's probably why he avoids getting to know any of his patients."

"But how did he burn you? What happened?" Cuddy couldn't restrain her curiosity.

Kat pursed her lips. She wasn't sure how much she really wanted to reveal, or how into her medical past she really wanted to go. "Short version is that his arrogance and lack of interest almost killed me once."

Cuddy considered asking for more detail, but she could tell that this was a subject that Kat did not enjoy talking about. "I see." She couldn't help but wonder if Kat literally meant that she'd almost died because of her uncle. Knowing House, Cuddy wouldn't be surprised if that really was the case. "So you'll check on him in an hour?"

"Yeah," Kat confirmed, then returned her attention back to paperwork she'd been filling out.

"What was that about?" Cameron asked as she approached.

Kat shrugged. "Nothing really."

Cameron raised a skeptical eyebrow.

Kat sighed. "She wants me to check up on House in the clinic in an hour. I guess being the newest hire makes me low man on the totem pole, so I get the privilege of babysitting House."

"Sounds fun," Cameron said sarcastically. "Still that's a weird thing to make you do. Although judging on what I heard about you putting him in his place, maybe you'll have better luck than someone else would."

Kat shrugged noncommittally. "Maybe."

"Good luck with that then," Cameron said as she wandered off towards curtain twelve.

"Thanks," Kat muttered. _I'll need it._

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Have you seen Dr. House?" Kat asked a young nurse in the clinic who pointed towards exam room two.

"He's in there," she replied.

"Thanks," Kat said with a smile that failed to reach her eyes. She couldn't believe she had actually agreed to do this. She was not his babysitter. She approached the door, knocked once, then went in. To her surprise House was in the middle of examining the right ear of a young boy. She had expected him to be sitting on a chair playing a video game or something equally as unproductive based on the stories she'd heard.

House looked up and his stomach tightened nervously. He'd been expecting her, but it was still nerve-racking. He felt like he was back in grammar school taking an exam that counted for half of his grade while he'd already failed the other half which was based on his behavior.

"Dr. House," Kat greeted him without affection.

"Dr. McManus, I'll be with you in one second. Timothy here seems to have an acute inner and middle ear infection. Would you care to take a look?" House offered her the otoscope.

Kat took it from him dubiously and examined the ear. House was right. It was red and inflamed. There were visible signs of infection.

"His chart says he's allergic to penicillin, so that rules out amoxicillin and Augmentin. I was thinking we'd prescribe Bactrim," House suggested.

Kat picked up the chart and was surprised to find that not only was Timothy actually the patient's name, rather than a name House had made up, he also was indeed allergic to penicillin. "Does he have a fever?"

"102.3," House replied.

"Sounds like a good course of action then," Kat approved. She didn't know what had come over her uncle, but she was glad not to have to reprimand him. "You feel better soon Timothy. Ok?"

The young boy nodded at her.

Kat glanced at House in confusion and surprise. "Was he actually treating you before I came in here?"

The young boy gave her a confused look.

"Was he already looking in your ear before I knocked?" she tried again in a whisper.

The boy nodded.

"Was he nice to you?"

The boy held out his hand and wobbled it back and forth to indicate so-so.

"Well, that sounds more like him. Thanks," Kat whispered.

"'You're welcome," the boy replied looking completely perplexed.

Kat glanced back at House again, and then left the room. She headed back to the ER in a daze, confused by what she'd just seen.

"Well?" Cuddy's voice interrupted her thoughts.

"He was working. Actually knew the name of his patient too," Kat replied.

Cuddy looked suspicious. "You sure?"

"I checked the chart to make sure he hadn't made the name up," Kat assured her.

"That's unlike him," Cuddy said thoughtfully.

"That's what I thought. I even asked the kid if House was looking in his ear before I got there and the kid said he was."

"Well, apparently I've found a threat that works. I hope you like it here because I don't think we can afford to lose you," Cuddy informed her.

"For the most part I do like it here, just not for what you want me here for. Guess I'm just going to have to live with that though," Kat sighed.

"The threat of you alone got House to work in the clinic without grumbling or trying to sneak around it," Cuddy pointed out.

"Yeah. Ok. Well, I'll live with it then," Kat said.

"Thank you. I'll see you later," Cuddy strode away.

Kat rolled her eyes in exasperation and caught sight of a familiar figure standing nearby.

"You got House to do clinic duty?" Remy asked in surprise.

Kat shrugged. "Apparently."

"How?" Remy was impressed.

"I don't know. I just checked in on the clinic and there he was examining a patient," Kat replied, uncomfortable with where the conversation might lead.

"But you didn't have to bribe him or threaten him?" Remy raised an eyebrow suspiciously.

"Nope," Kat said.

"Weird," Remy continued regarding Kat with one eyebrow raised.

"What?" Kat asked.

"That's what I wanna know," Remy replied.

"What?? You just confused the hell out of me," Kat said.

"I just spent all weekend with you, and you weren't this evasive the whole time. I'm just asking you about work and suddenly you're the queen of evasiveness," Remy pointed out.

"Speaking of this weekend, House apparently knows we arrived together. As does Cuddy and I'm sure half the hospital. It seems word travels fast around here," Kat informed Remy.

"Is that a problem?" Remy asked.

"No. Cuddy just warned me, since I'm a newbie and all, that House doesn't like to accept mundane reasons for things, like me giving you a ride because your car's in the shop. She said he likes to invent his own, more exciting reasons."

"True. He's probably already jumped to the assumption that we're sleeping together. He seems to be endlessly fascinated by my love life. I'm pretty sure I'm the only bisexual he's ever met. Plus he's a pig," Remy replied.

Kat's eyes widened slightly in fear at the possibility of her uncle thinking that she and Remy were sleeping together. She cleared her throat uneasily. "He gives you a hard time about being bisexual?"

"He just wants details all the time and assumes that because I'm not straight, that gives him the right to butt into my love life and know everything about it," Remy explained.

"Fun," Kat replied halfheartedly.

"Not so much," Remy said. "Anyway, he doesn't know that you're gay yet, so as long as you can avoid him finding it out, you should be fine at least."

"Yeah, I guess. It's not really fair to you though," Kat pointed out.

"I guess, but it'll be a lot worse for both of us if he knows we both like girls and we arrived together. Then there'll be no way to persuade him that we're not sleeping together."

Kat cleared her throat again at that comment. She silently resolved to try to get her uncle to ease up on Remy about her sexuality.

"Anyway, I should get back to work. See you later," Remy said as she wandered on down the hallway.

"See ya," Kat called after her. She took a quick moment to enjoy the fact that she'd managed to steer the conversation away from how she was able to control House. Her enjoyment was cut short when a pang of guilt hit her. She didn't like lying to Remy, and it'd be harder and harder to once Remy moved in with her. _Maybe it would be better to just come clean with her._ Kat glanced over her shoulder in the direction that Remy had gone. _But not just yet._


	20. Chapter 20

"Dr. McManus, I have a patient I think you might want to take a look at," House called to her across the busy ER.

Kat looked up suspiciously. Why was House asking her to look at a patient? That didn't seem like him. "I'm kind of busy."

House approached her. "Well, the way I understand it, you're supposed to be babysitting me, and I have a new case."

Kat's suspicions deepened. "You're volunteering this information?"

House nodded. "Yep. But if you want to undermine Cuddy and leave me to the patient, there's nothing I can do about it."

Kat narrowed her eyes. "Ok, let me finish up with this patient and I'll be up to your office in a couple of minutes."

"I'll see you there," House said as he turned and wondered away with a smug smile on his face. If he pretended to play their game and be cooperative, maybe, just maybe, he'd win and he'd stop feeling guilty.

_What's he playing at?_ Kat wondered. She finished up with her patient and told Cameron she was heading upstairs and to page her if she needed her. When she got to House's office, she hesitated. She knew he had to be playing some game, and it worried her that she didn't know what it was. She had no idea what kind of a situation she was walking into. She took a deep breath and opened the door.

"Glad you could make it," House greeted her.

Kat eyed him dubiously and nodded. "What's the case?"

"Have a seat," House offered, nodding towards a seat at the table next to Remy.

Kat sat down next to Remy who smiled at her.

"Hey," Remy whispered.

"Hey," Kat couldn't help but grin back.

"Patient's presenting with shortness of breath with some pain when she exercises as well as fatigue," House announced, writing down the symptoms.

"So how does that make it a case for us?" Taub asked.

"She also has sharp pain in her knees and her hands and wrists," House continued, pretending that he hadn't been interrupted.

Kutner picked up the file on the table and flipped through it. "She's a secretary. She's got carpal tunnel. Give her a brace and some pain killers and send her home."

"Since when does carpal tunnel present with pain in the knees?" Taub pointed out.

"Also, the last doctor tried that. Her pain got a little better, but then her ankles, feet and hands began to swell a little and she became clumsy. She complains of not being able to do basic tasks like button her shirt," House informed them.

Everyone looked at House expectantly, waiting for him to continue with more symptoms.

"That's it. Proceed with your ideas now," House prompted slightly irritably.

"Lupus," Foreman suggested.

"Huntington's," Kutner tossed out his idea.

"Gout." It was clear that Taub didn't think much of the case by his tone of voice.

"Lyme disease," Foreman threw out another suggestion.

"She doesn't have a rash," Remy pointed out.

"Well let's hear a suggestion from you," House said snidely.

Kat watched Remy examine the list of symptoms and she turned her head to do the same. "Rheumatoid arthritis," they suggested simultaneously.

"Nice to see you two getting along," House replied.

Kat glared.

"Ok, well, why don't you lot go and run tests for everything you just mentioned," House instructed them.

The team stood in unison, but Kat stayed seated, still eyeing House suspiciously.

The team filed out, but Remy hesitated at the door. "You coming?" she asked Kat.

"Yeah. I'll be there in a minute," Kat replied.

House raised his eyebrow at Kat as Remy left.

"What?" Kat asked.

"I'm glad you're making friends," House said.

Kat narrowed her eyes. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing," House replied with a grin.

"What are you up to?" Kat's eyes narrowed even more.

"What do you mean?" House asked, attempting to look innocent.

"You're being almost…nice. And you were doing your clinic hours, which, from what I've heard, is rather abnormal," Kat pointed out.

"A man can't change?" House continued acting innocent.

Kat furrowed her brows. "Not that fast," she muttered.

House's grin faltered slightly and he decided to change tactics for now. "So why did you arrive with Thirteen this morning?"

"Her car's in the shop," Kat replied.

"And you just happened to drive by her house and see her standing there on the side of the road looking for a ride?" House inquired.

"Yep," Kat said as she stood up.

"That was lucky for her," House kept digging.

"Sure was," Kat replied noncommittally.

It was House's turn to narrow his eyes. Clearly this approach wasn't getting to Kat either. "Well I'd better go check on our patient. And I believe you have tests to oversee."

Kat headed for the door, shot House one last suspicious look and headed down the hallway.

As soon as Kat had left, House's face reverted back to a scowl. _Even faking nice is hard!_

_--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
_

"So are you like my boss because you're kinda House's boss?" Remy asked as they headed to Kat's car.

Kat looked shocked. "What? I don't…I'm not…What?"

"Well, you seem to have veto power over him, and you're…I dunno…consulting, I guess, on this case. So that kinda makes you his boss, right?" Remy pointed out.

Kat shook her head vigorously. "Nooo! No way in hell! I don't want that responsibility!"

Remy laughed.

"And I'm not your boss. I'm just…I don't know. Making sure House is doing his job, and treating people like people," Kat said.

"So being his boss essentially," Remy persisted.

Kat bit her lower lip. She hadn't really thought of it like that. "Not really…I…I dunno."

"Which would kinda make you my boss," Remy continued.

"No. Colleague yes, boss no."

Remy shrugged. "If you say so, boss."

Kat shoved her playfully. "Come on!"

Remy laughed. "Sorry. Couldn't resist. So…ok, please don't take offense to this, but why are you stuck babysitting House? I mean you're fresh out of med school, and while you're an excellent doctor, there are many veteran doctors who wouldn't even consider babysitting House."

"I don't blame them," Kat replied.

"And why do you actually seem to succeed at controlling him?" Remy had been wondering this for days.

Kat shrugged. "Luck?"

"Even if you said that more convincingly, I wouldn't believe it," Remy said.

Kat stopped as she got to her car and turned to face Remy. "It's complicated."

Remy gave her a skeptical look. "How complicated could it be?"

Kat swallowed hard and took a deep breath. "Look, I really don't want to have this conversation here. Can we just…Why don't you come over for dinner tonight and I'll tell you then. Ok?"

"Because when I come over, I have a tendency not to leave, if this weekend is anything to judge by," Remy pointed out.

"But you'll have your own car this time," Kat countered.

Remy gave her a skeptical look, but then gave in. "Fine. Dinner."

"Thanks," Kat said, now dreading the rest of her evening. All she could do was hope that Remy didn't react badly to the information, or to the fact that Kat had lied by omission for the past week, and hope that Remy would keep the information to herself.

"Ok…Let's go!" Remy got into Kat's car and Kat followed her lead. "On to the mechanic!" Remy said.


	21. Chapter 21

"So…" Remy prompted after they'd finished eating.

Kat swallowed hard and looked to Jenny for support.

"Maybe I should…ummm…I have somewhere to go…or be…or something," Jenny said, standing up from the table. She couldn't help thinking that she would not be helpful in this conversation.

"And leave me with the cleaning up? Gee thanks," Kat grumbled, more upset by the lack of support than actually having to clean up.

"I'll help," Remy offered.

Kat and Jenny looked at Remy and then at each other. "I'll see you guys later," Jenny said kissing them both on the cheek before grabbing her jacket and heading out of the house.

Remy turned her attention back to Kat. "Ok…well? What's going on with you and House? What aren't you telling me?"

Kat stared at her hands and took a deep breath. "House…He's…" Kat couldn't bring herself to say the words. "Hold on a sec."

"Ok…" Remy watched in confusion as Kat stood and went to the bookcase, bringing out an old photo album.

Kat brought the photo album back to the table and began rummaging through it. She stopped at a page and pulled out a picture. She looked at it and sighed. "Here," she said handing it to Remy.

Remy was confused at first. She looked at the picture and the first thing that caught her eye was a young redhead. "Is that you?"

"Yeah…I was like...I dunno ten or something when that picture was taken."

"You were adorable!"

"Thanks," Kat replied without looking up. She was practically holding her breath. She was not looking forward to Remy's next realization.

"Hold on a second…" Remy stared hard at the picture. "Is that???" Familiar blue eyes stared back at her. The face was younger and the hair wasn't white…but there was no doubt who it was.

"Yeah," Kat sighed.

"Ok…So why is House in a picture with you when you were like ten?" Remy asked as she stared incredulously at the picture.

"See the other two people in the picture?" Kat asked.

"Yep."

"Those are my parents."

"I probably would have guessed that. You look like them."

"Well…My mom is…" Kat started.

"Yes?" Remy encouraged.

Kat sighed again. "House's sister…" she mumbled.

"Come again?" Remy turned her incredulous gaze to Kat.

Kat groaned. "House is my mom's brother," she said reluctantly.

"He's your uncle?? House is your uncle. You have to be kidding me!!!!!" Remy didn't know how to react.

Kat just stared at her hands.

Remy looked at Kat. "You're not kidding."

Kat shook her head but still wouldn't look at Remy.

"House is your uncle."

Kat nodded.

"And I'm just now finding out because?"

Kat ran her hand through her hair and shifted her gaze to the floor. She shrugged.

"Kat…" Remy didn't like the lack of answers and she really didn't like that Kat wouldn't even look at her. "Come on! Talk to me!"

Kat stood and went to the couch and flopped down. Remy followed her and sat down next to her.

"Talk to me!" she encouraged again.

"I don't know what to say," Kat replied.

"Well…you could start by explaining why you lied to me about not knowing House," Remy suggested.

Kat clenched her eyes closed then opened them again. "I'm sorry. I just…I didn't want…I wanted to…I mean if people out there don't know that he's my uncle, then they won't associate me with him. Cuddy found out because House barged into my interview. She saw the effect I had on him then, and decided to take advantage of that and offered me extra money if I'd work at Princeton-Plainsboro and help keep him…slightly under control."

"But why do you have control over him. I mean he's your uncle…so what? I don't have control over my uncles!" Remy couldn't help feeling slightly hurt that Kat hadn't told her earlier, but she could understand her not wanting to be associated with House. Remy had to admit that she probably wouldn't shout it from the rooftops if House was her uncle.

"Cause he's a jackass…and I remind him of that fact."

"That really doesn't seem to bother him normally," Remy pointed out.

"I got sick…really sick when I was a kid. He blew me off. He blew my mom off. He didn't treat me. He didn't even take a look at me until I almost died. By that point we didn't want his help. He feels guilty because I remind him that his negligence and his self-absorption almost killed a relative…specifically me. And I remind him that his sister isn't talking to him anymore. I remind him that he's not God…he's not superhuman…he's just a doctor…and he's not always a good one. That's why I have control over him. I make him act human. It probably won't last long. Probably until about as long as it takes for him to figure out I'm gay, based on what I've seen since I started working with him."

Remy nodded. "That might put a little dent in the amount of control you have over him."

"Yeah."

"Will you look at me?" Remy asked.

"What?" Kat finally looked up at Remy.

"You haven't looked at me since we started this conversation."

"Really? Sorry," Kat looked down at her hands again.

"And you're doing it again," Remy pointed out, reaching out and turning Kat's face towards her.

Kat's eyes met Remy's and she felt her heart skip a beat. "So you're not mad at me?"

Remy gazed into the deep green eyes looking back at her. "No…I get why you didn't want to tell me. Or anyone."

"Yeah?" Kat asked.

"Yeah," Remy assured her, not breaking eye contact.

"Would you mind not telling anyone else about this?"

"No problem…but you won't be able to hide it forever. Cameron's pretty smart. She's bound to figure it out. And with House backing down from you the others are going to know something's up," Remy pointed out.

"I know…I just want to keep it private for now."

"Fair enough," Remy said. "I won't tell anyone." Remy could feel the heat emanating from Kat. _You cannot fall for her! You're moving in with her! This is a recipe for disaster!_ As much as she knew that her thoughts were true, she couldn't tear her eyes away from Kat's.

"So how'd it go?" Jenny asked opening the door. "Oh…ummm…Sorry. I'm clearly interrupting something. I'll go."

Remy and Kat jumped away from each other.

"What? No! It's fine. We were just talking!" Kat said.

"Uh-huh. Sure," Jenny replied skeptically.

Kat glared. She knew what Jenny was insinuating.

"So she knows?" Jenny turned to Remy. "You know?"

"I know," Remy confirmed.

"And you're still here. That's a good sign."

"Yep," Kat affirmed.

"Why wouldn't I still be here?" Remy questioned curiously.

Jenny shrugged. "I dunno. Clearly you're cool."

"Clearly," Remy laughed.

"So did you guys finish the cleaning up?" Jenny asked.

"Ha. Yeah. No. We left it for you. Nice try though," Kat replied.

Jenny rolled her eyes. "Rats."

Kat laughed. Jenny wiggled her eyebrows at her and Kat glared back. "Should I leave?" Jenny mouthed.

Kat shook her head vigorously. "No. Don't be stupid."

Jenny took a seat by the two of them. "I'm not! It looked like…"

"It wasn't!" Kat replied.

"Just thought I'd ask," Jenny said holding up her hands in a placating gesture.

Remy just sat there looking back and forth between the two friends. "Huh? Am I missing something?"

"No," Kat replied. "Just Jenny imagining things!"

"Oookaay," Remy was less than convinced, but decided to let it drop.

"So where did you go? Clearly not far!" Kat inquired.

"To get some ice cream," Jenny replied.

"So where's my ice cream?" Kat wanted to know.

"Ummm…At the store. Duh!"

Kat picked up a couch pillow and threw it at Jenny, as Remy laughed at the exchange. She couldn't help being a little sad that Jenny was moving soon. She felt like she was at home with Jenny and Kat, and she liked that feeling.


	22. Chapter 22

"Simultaneous arrival? What's that about?" House asked as he pulled up his motorcycle right behind Kat and Remy who had parked right next to each other a minute before.

Remy had ended up staying over again, since Jenny had insisted on opening a bottle of wine after Remy and Kat had talked the night before.

"Coincidence," Kat suggested.

"I don't believe in coincidences," House replied matter-of-factly.

"Well in that case it was all part of God's secret plan," Kat replied.

"I don't believe in God," House said flatly.

"That's only because you think you're better than God, and since God is infallible and omniscient that doesn't work for you," Kat retorted. "Of course, the fact that you're wrong about you being infallible and better than God, kinda puts a small crimp in your theory."

House grit his teeth. "How can I be wrong if I'm infallible?"

"I dunno…Let's ask mom about your infallibility." Kat shot back.

House shot a surprised look at Kat then looked to Remy who had been following the banter like a tennis match, looking from one to the other. Remy's eyes were wide. She definitely had not adjusted to the fact that House was Kat's uncle yet. Looking at the two of them, and know that they were related, she could see a certain similarity in their stance and the way they carried themselves, though Kat was clearly less self-righteous.

House registered that Remy didn't look nearly as confused by Kat's statement as she should if she didn't know about their relationship. He opened his mouth to point this out, but the truth was that Kat's comment had stung, and he just couldn't find a witty response. He turned and walked away.

Kat watched him go with a glare then turned to Remy. "Well that's a good start to the morning."

Remy raised her eyebrows and half nodded. "You two really are related huh?"

Kat shrugged. "Afraid so."

"Today's going to be a long day, isn't it?"

Kat nodded. "Probably."

They looked at each other and sighed before heading in to the hospital.

_______________________________________________________________________________________

"Blood tests all came back negative," Kutner said, shaking his head, unable to come up with another idea.

"How about the X-rays?" House asked.

"Normal. No signs of erosion and normal alignment," Remy replied.

"Let me see," House reached his hand out and Remy handed him the X-rays. House held them up to the light and nodded. "You're right." House sat down in his chair, picked up a ball off of his desk, and began throwing it against the wall. He scowled to himself. He'd assumed it would be rheumatoid arthritis. Since it wasn't he now didn't have a clue. "What else could it be?"

"Maybe it's psychosomatic," Taub suggested.

"You didn't think it was a real case to begin with. Of course you're going to say it's all in her head," Kutner countered.

"Taub has a point. When all of the tests are negative, what does that leave?" Foreman pointed out.

House nodded. "I say go with Taub. Put her on antidepressants and see if her pain magically disappears."

"Yesterday you thought she was a real case and today you're just blowing it off thinking that she's a head case?" Kat interjected incredulously. She was with Kutner…there had to be another option.

"Do you have a better suggestion?" House asked carefully, trying to keep harshness out of his voice.

Kat pondered the symptoms for a minute. She had to admit that for the time being another logical explanation was escaping her. She shook her head reluctantly.

"Go start her on anti-depressants," House instructed Taub and Kutner who stood and left the room.

Kat stood and approached the board with the symptoms written on it. She began to pace back and forth, glancing at the symptoms sporadically. There had to be another explanation.

House, Remy, and Foreman watched her, Foreman gazing interestedly back and forth between House and Kat. It was unlike House to not comment on someone's strange behavior. Remy too was observing the similarities between Kat and House. She really could see more similarities the closer she looked. Still, there were some stark contrasts that Remy couldn't ignore and that she knew meant that Kat would never be like House.

Kat, oblivious to the attention she was getting crossed to House's desk and picked up the ball that House had abandoned and began bouncing it off the ground and catching it as she paced. She kept running the symptoms over and over in her mind trying to picture pages of text from her med school text books, thinking of similar cases she'd gotten during her internship. She was drawing a blank.

Foreman's eyes widened as he couldn't help thinking how much the young woman before him was acting like House. "What's going on here?"

House and Remy snapped their attention to Foreman, but Kat's mind stayed with the symptoms.

"I believe you're familiar with this process. It's called diagnosing," House said sarcastically.

"That's not what I mean. What's going on with you two? You're being nice…Meanwhile Kat…in some ways she acts just like you." Foreman pointed out.

Kat froze and finally looked up at the mention of her name. She looked to Remy.

"We all act a little like House. You most of all. It's the only way to survive working with him," Remy said.

Foreman raised one eyebrow skeptically but nodded. "True I suppose. But she hasn't worked here very long. I still say there's something else going on here."

"Only you imagining things. Maybe we should be putting you on the mind altering medications," House suggested.

Kat remained silent. She didn't know what bothered her more: the direction of the current conversation, or the fact that she felt like they were missing something with the patient. She began to bounce the ball again unconsciously.

Remy had to admit that Kat was acting eerily similar to House when he couldn't figure something out. She stood and approached Kat, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Come on. Let's go check on the patient," she suggested.

"Ok," Kat agreed. She threw the ball to House who caught it and she let Remy's hand guide her out of the room.

Once Kat and Remy had left, House turned back to Foreman. "If you want to go snooping…snoop on them. That's where something's going on."

Foreman rolled his eyes. "Just because Thirteen's bi, doesn't mean that she's sleeping with every woman in the hospital." Foreman stood and left the room.

House scowled at his back. "No…But Kat's definitely bonded with her," he muttered to himself.

___________________________________________________________________________________

"You ok?" Remy asked Kat as they stood on the roof of the hospital looking out at the world.

"Yeah. I just…Depression doesn't seem right. I feel like there's something that fits those symptoms perfectly that we're missing. I just can't think of it."

Remy put a consoling arm around Kat's waist. "We'll figure it out."

"Yeah…But will it be too late to help the patient?"

Remy fell silent, recognizing that Kat wasn't looking for an answer to that question.

"So Foreman's figuring out my little secret, isn't he?" Kat changed the subject.

"He might be," Remy admitted, not wanting to make Kat's day worse, but not wanting to lie to her either. "House seems to be playing it cool though. He seems as eager as you to deny your relationship."

"That had not escaped my notice," Kat said.

"I have to admit though, when you were bouncing that ball, you seemed a lot like House."

Kat pulled away from Remy. "What?" Brows furrowed, she turned to face her friend. "How could you say that?"

"I didn't mean…You're nothing like him. There are just a few similarities…And…Kat…"

Kat scowled. That had hurt. Remy had just compared her to the one person in the world who she wanted to be absolutely nothing like. "I should go check on the patient again." Kat turned and headed towards the door to the stairs.

"Kat!" Remy called after her.

Kat kept walking. She knew she was overreacting, but she just…She had spent her life trying to be the opposite of him, but apparently she'd failed because apparently there were similarities.

"Kat!" Remy called again as she ran after her. She grabbed Kat's arm and spun her around to face her. Remy could see tears forming in the corner of Kat's eyes. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean…Look, you're nothing like him really! Not where it counts! I swear! I'm sorry!"

Kat blinked hard. She didn't cry and she certainly wasn't going to over anything remotely related to House. "Yeah. Sorry…I didn't mean to overreact."

Remy could tell that Kat's words were hollow. She locked her eyes with Kat's green ones and felt her heart melt with the emotion that she could see Kat trying to cover up. Remy loosened her grip on Kat's arm a little as she brought her other hand up to wipe away a stray tear that Kat hadn't been able to restrain. She then proceeded to brush a loose piece of hair out of Kat's face and tuck it behind her ear. "You're nothing like him. You're kind and compassionate and a brilliant doctor without being full of yourself and funny and caring and super hot and someone I'd consider living with!"

Kat felt her cheeks flush at the rush of compliments that had just come out of Remy's mouth. One in particular lingered in her brain. _She thinks I'm hot? No. No…She's trying to make you feel better. Besides…even if she thinks you're hot that doesn't mean anything._ "You're just saying that."

"No. I'm not. And you know it," Remy had glanced away when she'd realized that she'd told Kat that she thought she was hot, but she looked back now, because she wanted to make sure that Kat knew that she was telling the truth.

Kat gazed into Remy's eyes and saw the truth there. She nodded. "Ok."

"Ok?" Remy raised an eyebrow. She wanted to make sure that Kat really got her point.

Kat nodded. "Ok."

"Good," Remy grinned. "'Cause I'm really glad I met you. This is going to sound crazy because we haven't known each other that long, but you've managed to become one of my closest friends, and it would really suck to have you mad at me."

Kat's stomach flipped a little at Remy's words. _Closest friends? Really?_ "I'm not mad at you," she assured her friend.

"Good," Remy repeated as the pair walked back into the building. "Let's go figure out what's wrong with our patient."


	23. Chapter 23

"There's no improvement on anti-depressants and now her fingers have a bluish discoloration," Remy announced as she walked into House's office where the rest of the team was already sitting.

"Ideas?" House asked the group.

"Raynaud's Phenomenon," Kutner suggested after a moment's thought.

"Not a bad idea for a change," House replied.

"Her fingernails aren't brittle and don't have longitudinal ridges," Remy countered.

"Just because it can cause those symptoms doesn't mean it has to," House shot back.

"I think it's auto-immune," Kat voiced.

"That narrows it down," House said sarcastically. "Start testing."

"Testing before selecting a random treatment? That's new," Taub observed.

"Start testing for all of you who'd like to keep your jobs or take back idiotic comments that they've just said and keep their jobs," House ordered.

Taub simply nodded and stood to leave the room to begin testing. The rest of the team followed.

Kat paused in the doorway.

"You don't want to keep your job?" House asked before he could stop himself.

"You don't actually have the authority to threaten my job," Kat replied with a smile that she knew would infuriate him.

House grit his teeth. "You're right. I'm sorry."

Kat furrowed her brows. _Did he really just apologize? What is happening to the world?_ She left the room without further comment.

______________________________________________________________________________________________

"These tests are taking forever. I hate the waiting!" Remy moaned as she and Kat sat in one of the labs.

"It's definitely not the most fun activity in the world. I should probably go check on the E.R. and see how things are doing down there," Kat said.

"I could go with you," Remy offered.

"Sure," Kat shot her a smile.

"So what disease are you leaning towards?" Remy asked as they began to walk.

"I'm not sure. None of them seem to quite fit to me. I just…I still feel like I'm missing something! Do me a favor and run over all the symptoms with me again?"

"Shortness of breath, fatigue, sharp pain in the knees then hands and elbows, then swelling in the ankles and hands, loss of coordination, and now bluish discoloration," Remy listed for her.

Kat stopped dead in her tracks as a thought struck her. "Her skins thickening!"

"What?" Remy was caught off guard.

"Scleroderma!" Kat replied excitedly and started walking again, but this time in the opposite direction, heading back to House's office. "Scleroderma!" she announced again as she marched into House's office.

House almost toppled out of his chair in surprise as he hadn't been expecting anyone back for hours. "Come again?"

"She has Scleroderma. It fits!" Kat said again.

House thought for a second. She was right. The symptoms did fit, but he didn't want her to win so easily. How could she be right again? "Did you do the nail-fold capillary test yet?"

"No," Kat admitted.

"What about a biopsy?"

"No," Kat repeated. "I'll go do that. But I'm right," Kat couldn't help but grin a little smugly as she could tell that House knew that she was indeed right.

"There's no cure. Why are you grinning?" House scowled.

Kat's smile vanished when she realized that House was right. "I'll be back once I've done the tests."

Remy followed Kat back out of the room, slightly in awe. Without a doubt, nobody handled House better.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

"Everything's pointing to Scleroderma!" Remy announced somewhat smugly on behalf of Kat who was still with the patient.

"Well whoop-dee-doo!" House muttered. He'd been sure, as soon as Kat had suggested it, that it was the correct diagnosis.

"Kat's starting her on phototherapy, vasodilators and ACE inhibitors," Remy ignored the sarcasm in House's voice.

"What about D-penicillamine?" House asked.

"That too. She's explaining everything to the patient," Remy confirmed.

"Good, I suppose," House said begrudgingly.

Remy turned to leave again but House stopped her.

"So do you have the hots for her?"

Remy turned back to face him as she rolled her eyes. House was never going to let the subject of her sexuality drop. "What?"

"You know…Does she make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside? Do you want to jump her bones?" House persisted.

"You know that warm and fuzzy and wanting to jump someone's bones are not mutually inclusive, right?" Remy countered.

"Are you trying to avoid the subject?" House shot back.

Remy sighed. Right now she'd give anything for Kat's ability to handle House and put him in his place. "No, I do not have the hots for her."

"Are you sure? You two seem to stick together a lot," House pointed out, looking for any abnormal reaction from Remy, anything that might give him something to work with.

"We're this thing, I don't think you really know what it is but maybe you've heard of it: we're friends," Remy replied.

"With benefits?" House suggested hopefully.

"Nope," Remy said truthfully.

House scowled.

"If that's all, I'm going to get back to the patient," Remy turned again and, channeling Kat a little, marched out of the room before House could say anything else.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________

"Here's to another mystery case diagnosed!" Jenny proposed a toast as she raised her glass of beer.

"And another friend leaving town," Kat added wistfully as she raised her glass as well.

"Oh cut that out! I'll come back to visit soon! I promise!" Jenny rolled her eyes. "No moping tonight! I forbid it!"

Kat sighed. "Fine."

"Good. Now as I was saying: here's to another brilliant diagnosis by Dr. McManus!" Jenny grinned as she, Kat and Remy clinked their glasses.

Remy grinned back, though she was quite nervous tonight. Jenny leaving town meant more one on one gatherings with Kat. It also meant that Remy was moving in soon. That had her nervous. She wouldn't admit to herself that she liked Kat, but she was finding it harder and harder to ignore the physical attraction she felt to her. _That's all it is._ She told herself for the hundredth time that day. _There's no emotional attraction beyond friendship. We're friends…roommates…that's it!_

"Ok. I'm off to the bathroom. Be right back," Kat said, interrupting Remy's thoughts.

"You're awfully quiet tonight," Jenny murmured quietly to Remy as she scooted closer. "Don't tell me you're moping around like Kat is. I can't take it from both of you!"

Remy cracked a grin. "No. Sorry."

"Ok…So what's up then?" Jenny inquired.

"It's nothing. I don't know. Not in a talkative mood I guess?" Remy suggested, though she had a feeling that Jenny wouldn't take that as an answer.

"Bullshit," Jenny rolled her eyes. "Try again."

"Well…maybe I'm a little bummed that you're leaving," Remy admitted. It was a half truth, but she hoped that Jenny would accept it. She glanced in the direction of the bathroom hoping that Kat would come back and save her from this conversation.

Jenny followed Remy's eyes and realization dawned. "Much as I appreciate that you'll miss me, I think it's something else that's occupying your brain at the moment. A little redhead perhaps? A colleague of yours?"

Remy shot Jenny a shocked look. "What do you mean?"

"Ummm…Kat?" Jenny replied as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"What about her? She's not moving!" Remy was still trying to avoid the conversation.

"No...You are though. You worried about moving in with her?"

"Maybe a little," Remy admitted. "I've been living by myself for so long, it'll be a bit of an adjustment to live with someone again."

"Yeah. Uh-huh. Sure. But I don't think that's the whole deal," Jenny said.

"What else do you think it is?" Remy asked warily.

"I think that you're nervous about what might happen with such constant proximity," Jenny cut to the chase.

Remy swallowed hard. "I don't know what you mean."

"Yes you do," Jenny called her bluff. "But you shouldn't worry. Just go with what seems natural."

"It's not that easy. There are all sorts of complications," Remy pointed out.

Jenny shrugged. "Life's rarely easy! And complications can be worked out."

Remy frowned. What was Jenny trying to tell her exactly? To go for it even though it would be hard? Or to keep suppressing feelings, or at least her attraction even though that wasn't easy? _Probably the latter._ Remy assumed. _She's Kat's best friend. She doesn't want to see her friend's life made any harder, and Kat's already dealing with complications._ "Yeah. I got it," she sighed.

"Good," Jenny grinned. _Finally! Now I'll leave, and Remy will move in, and she'll make her move! About time!_

"What'd I miss?" Kat asked rejoining her friends.

"Nothing," Jenny trilled. "Come dance with me. I'm not going to have anyone to dance with in New York!"

"Yeah, because guys aren't going to be falling over themselves to dance with you when you go out!" Kat rolled her eyes.

Jenny waved the comment away. "It's not the same. They tend to step on my feet a lot more!"

Kat sighed, but relented and went to go dance with her friend.

Remy watched them as they began to move in rhythm to the music. She had to admire Kat's slim frame moving so gracefully to the beat. _God she's hot!_ Remy thought. _No! No, she's not. No hotness! She's your friend and you can't think she's hot!_ She corrected herself. _Man, this is not going to be easy._


	24. Chapter 24

"Moving out and moving in on the same day? Who's lame idea was that?" Jenny moaned.

"Yours," Kat pointed out with a smirk. She was glad that she'd remembered to drink plenty of water when they'd got home the night before.

"Ugh!" Jenny moaned again.

Remy remained silent as she helped Jenny load the moving truck. They'd opted to split the cost of renting a moving truck, move Remy's stuff over to the Kat's place, unload it, move in what they could with Jenny's stuff still there, then load up Jenny's stuff and send her on her way to NY.

Remy headed back into the apartment to grab another box and found Kat walking beside her.

"You ok? You've been kinda quiet since last night," Kat observed.

"Me? Yeah, I'm fine," Remy replied, putting on a smile.

Kat gave her a skeptical look, but decided to let it rest. "Ok," she said with a shrug. "So you excited about moving in?"

"Yep!" Remy responded, trying to force eagerness into her voice. The truth was that she _was_ excited, she was just nervous at the same time.

"Me too. I think it's gonna be great! And maybe I won't miss Jenny as much with you living here!" Kat grinned at her.

Remy couldn't help but genuinely return the smile. "Yeah. It is gonna be great." This time, Remy, really meant it.

_____________________________________________________

"Ok…I should be off!" Jenny smiled sadly at her two friends.

"Can't you just stay tonight? It's late. You could leave in the morning!" Kat pleaded.

"Sorry. I've gotta unpack tomorrow, and I have to do it by myself, so I can't waist the time it'd take to drive there in the morning! Besides, the longer I stay, the less I'll want to leave!" Jenny countered.

Kat pouted, but had to admit that Jenny had a point. "Fine. But we'll miss you insanely! And you have to call me when you get there so that I know you're safe, ok?" she insisted.

Jenny nodded. "I promise. Now come here!" Jenny wrapped Kat in a bear hug and held her close. "I love you! You have to come visit soon! And I'll come back soon too! I promise!"

"I love you too! You better come visit soon!" Kat could feel tears welling up in her eyes, but she fought them back. She didn't want to make leaving any harder for Jenny than it already was.

Jenny leaned back to look into Kat's face. "You're gonna do fine and I'm gonna do fine and everything's gonna be great! You'll see!"

Kat forced a smile.

Jenny leaned in and kissed Kat full on the lips. It wasn't in any way romantic, it was just the comforting kiss of a friend.

Remy knew that Jenny was straight, but she couldn't help feeling a slight lump raise in her throat at the kiss. She felt jealousy flare up, but fought it back, knowing it was irrational and she had no right.

Jenny let go of Kat and turned to Remy. "Your turn. Come here!" Jenny wrapped Remy in an equally tight hug. "You take care of her, ok?" she said. "You take care of each other," she said a little louder.

"We will!" Kat promised her.

"Ok, I should get going. And just so you're not jealous…"

Remy was caught off guard when Jenny's lips met hers. She closed her eyes involuntarily, and then Jenny was gone.

Kat rolled her eyes at Jenny, but part of her felt a pang of what, if she didn't know any better, she might have called jealousy.

"Right, I'm off!" Jenny said, attempting to beam brightly at her two friends. "Adventures await!" Despite her brave words, a few tears began to trickle out of her eyes.

"Go on! We'll see you again soon," Kat fought back her own tears. "Love you!"

"Love you too! Both of you! Be good!" Jenny climbed reluctantly into the driver's seat of the truck, put on a smile, winked at her friends and began her drive.

Kat and Remy stood and watched her until the truck was out of sight.

"I can't believe she's really gone," Kat said sadly, her voice cracking.

Remy put a comforting arm around Kat's waist. "Come on. Let's go upstairs. I've got to unpack too."

Kat nodded and the two walked upstairs with their arms around each other.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

She'd managed to stay busy for the last four hours, but she and Remy had finally run out of steam and given up on unpacking for the night. Staying busy had helped Kat not think about the fact that her best friend had just moved away. Now they were sitting on the couch, having a glass of wine and the realization was starting to sink in and the tears that she'd fought successfully earlier began to flow.

Remy knew why Kat was crying and she instinctively put a comforting arm around her. Kat turned into her and nuzzled her face against Remy's chest, only slightly self conscious about the fact that she was crying. After a few minutes, the tears started to subside and she managed to get a grip on herself.

"Sorry," Kat mumbled.

"Don't worry about it," Remy reassured her, stroking her hair, suddenly conscious of their proximity to each other.

"I'm not normally this weepy. I promise," Kat continued.

"Ha…no…I know. I have spent just a little bit of time with you," Remy pointed out.

Kat laughed. "True. Thank God. If you hadn't moved in today, and this place had been completely empty…Well, I'd have been a lot more miserable," Kat admitted.

Remy's heart swelled despite herself. She knew that Kat only meant that it was nice to have a friend around, but Remy couldn't help feeling like Kat meant her specifically.

"Well…It's nice to be here," Remy replied.

Kat smiled at her. "Here," she said handing Remy her glass of wine, "Here's to moving in together!" Kat raised her own glass and Remy clinked hers against it.

"To moving in together," she echoed. "It's gonna be fun."

________________________________________________________________________

"So why're you two arriving to work together today? Did Thirteen's car break down again? Or have you two suddenly become environmentalists and carpooling to work?" House had been waiting in the parking lot for Kat to arrive. He had barely been able to suppress his evil grin.

Kat rolled her eyes and decided that there was no point in lying. "No. My old roommate moved away for a job and I needed a new roommate. Fortunately _Remy_," Kat made a point in emphasizing her friend's name, "had her lease coming up soon. The fact that we now get to carpool and help save the environment is just an added bonus."

Cameron pulled up next to them and got out of her car in time to hear House's next comment.

"I see, so you just happened to need a roommate and just happened to pick the only bisexual girl in the hospital to move in with? Convenient for you Thirteen," House winked conspiratorially at Remy who rolled her eyes.

"As it so happens, I'm not the only bisexual person working at Princeton Plainsboro, and no I'm not going to divulge the names of the others," Remy replied.

"And," Cameron cut in, deciding to help out her new colleague, "Kat asked me to move in with her too, but I explained that I'm living with Chase."

House frowned slightly at that. If Kat had asked Cameron to move in as well, then maybe there really wasn't anything going on with Kat and Remy.

Kat shot Cameron a thankful look.

"How is living with the blonde idiot?" House asked.

"Chase isn't an idiot and he's doing great. He keeps busy in the OR doing all of the surgeries you can't con anybody else into doing and that you're too medicated to even think about doing yourself. Let's get to work Kat," Cameron grabbed Kat's arm and turned to head in to the hospital before House could say anything else. Kat waved to Remy then followed Cameron.

House glared after the two of them then turned back to Remy. "Still…Things have worked out rather well for you. I can tell you have the hots for her."

Remy rolled her eyes and without a response which might betray her, she followed after Cameron and Kat.

"Hey guys, wait up!" Remy called after them. Kat and Cameron halted and waited for Remy to catch up.

Once she was sure that they were out of earshot of House Remy turned to Cameron. "Did Kat really ask you to move in with us…I mean her?"

Cameron shook her head with a smile. "No. I just figured that me saying so might get House off of your backs momentarily."

"Thank you for that, by the way! I owe you," Kat said gratefully.

"You're welcome. I might take you up on that owing me thing," Cameron replied.

"Oh yeah? What'd you have in mind?" Kat asked with one eyebrow raised.

Remy felt a twang of jealousy well up in her stomach. _Are they flirting? No! Don't be ridiculous! Cameron's straight!_

"Well…How about you two have me to dinner for starters…and then maybe you could tell me what's really going on with you and House?" Cameron asked just before they reached the doors to the hospital.

Kat froze in place. Remy noticed immediately, but Cameron took a few more steps before she realized that the other two were no longer in stride with her.

"What'd I say?" Cameron asked at the look on Kat's face.

Kat regained her composure quickly. "Nothing. Sure. Dinner. Tonight?"

"I've still got so much unpacking to do!" Remy exclaimed.

"Right. True," Kat considered. "We'll get a lot more done tonight assuming that we don't have to stay late tonight because we have a case…So how about tomorrow night?"

"It's a date!" Cameron replied with a smile that was barely disguising her curiosity over Kat's reaction. "Off to work," Cameron cocked her head in the direction of the ER.

"Right. Ok," Kat turned to Remy. "See you later."

"Yeah. See you," Remy couldn't help slightly regretting having to leave Kat. _Ok, you've got to get ahold of this little crush or whatever it is you have on Kat! She's your friend and colleague and roommate! You cannot like her!_ She took one last glance at Kat and Cameron and turned to head upstairs.


	25. Chapter 25

A/N: This is not exactly my best section, but hopefully you'll like it anyway. I'm trying very hard not to let my writer's block win. Please Read and Review.

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The day had passed uneventfully for Kat. She hadn't had to see House again and the ER had been fairly slow, giving her a chance to catch up on paperwork. She'd taken lunch with Cameron, Chase, Remy, and Kutner, and had found out that House had his team doing his paperwork too. _It must just be that kind of a day._ She'd thought at the time.

Now she and Remy were unpacking more of her boxes. Well, to be accurate, she was laying on Remy's bed watching her unpack a little. _God she's hot!_ Kat's thoughts caught her slightly off guard, and she tried to push them aside. "The room's really starting to look nice."

Remy paused and looked around. "Yep. Only a few more boxes to go. Thank God! I'm wiped!" Remy flopped down on the bed next to Kat.

Kat found her body becoming suddenly more aware of Remy's proximity. "So're you happy you moved in?"

"So far," Remy smiled at her.

Kat felt her stomach flip slightly, but ignored it. "What do you mean 'so far?' Are you anticipating not being happy you moved in sometime in the near future?"

Remy laughed. "No. Definitely not!"

The two lay on the bed in exhausted silence for a minute, each acutely aware of each other.

"So what are you going to tell Cameron tomorrow night?" Remy asked.

Kat shrugged. "I don't know. The truth I guess. She's my colleague and my friend so I don't really want to lie to her. Besides, she doesn't seem the type to spread gossip around."

Remy nodded. "Yeah. You're probably right."

"How do you think she's going to take it?" Kat asked.

It was Remy's turn to shrug. "She'll probably be surprised that anyone other than the devil is actually related to House. Other than that, I don't know." Remy leaned her head against Kat who felt a shiver of excitement run through her body.

_Kat, get a grip! She's your roommate! Your friend! What's wrong with you?_ Kat pushed the feeling aside and returned her attention to her friend. "I guess we'll find out tomorrow!"

Remy nodded. "I guess so." She relished the feeling of closeness that laying side by side with Kat created in her, then she looked at her few remaining boxes and sighed. She sat up. "Back to work. Wanna get pizza for dinner?"

Kat just nodded at first, too distracted by the sudden absence of Remy's warmth from her side. "Yeah…Sure. I'll order while you unpack. What do you want on your pizza?" Kat asked as she pulled out her phone to dial Domino's.

Remy hesitated for a second. "Don't laugh, but I really like feta and green peppers on my pizza."

Kat raised an eyebrow, but didn't comment. "Ok…One feta and green pepper pizza coming up."

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

"Ok, so your coming home with us now, right?" Kat asked Cameron as they were packing up their things in the locker room.

"If you don't mind. Chase took the car to this lecture in New York for the day. I'll take a taxi home," Cameron replied.

"He won't be back in time to pick you up?"

Cameron shook her head. He's staying there tonight and driving back tomorrow.

"And how are you getting to work tomorrow?"

Cameron shrugged. "Taxi."

"Don't be silly. Stay with us tonight. Then you can ride with us to work."

"I don't have any extra clothes," Cameron pointed out.

"What size do you wear? I'm sure between Remy and I we have some clothes that'll fit you," Kat countered.

"You don't mind? I feel bad enough that I basically invited myself to dinner, I don't want to put you guys out."

"Don't worry about it!" Kat explained.

They met Remy in the parking lot and Remy raised a questioning eyebrow.

"Chase is out of town with the car," Kat explained.

Remy nodded. "So we're having a sleepover?"

"Yep," Kat replied.

"Cool," Remy smiled at Cameron. "Let's go."

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"Ok…So what's the deal with you and House?" Cameron asked as they ate dinner.

Kat almost choked on her food and Remy shot her a furtive glance.

"That bad?" Cameron inquired.

Kat shrugged then nodded. "In my opinion."

"So what is it? I'm guessing it's not that you're secretly sleeping with him. Your level of disgust with him is hard to fake."

"True," Kat took a deep breath and looked at Remy who nodded reassuringly. "He's my uncle."

Cameron's jaw dropped in shock.

"And a bastard," Kat added for good measure.

"I think we all knew that last bit," Remy said, trying to lighten the mood.

Cameron couldn't think of anything to say. There was no way that the gorgeous, kind, humble woman before her could be related in any way to House! They were complete opposites, except perhaps in their stubbornness. She scrutinized Kat's face. _And yet…_ There was something in the shape of the eyes, and the skeletal structure that was vaguely familiar now that she was looking for it.

"Saying something would be nice right about now…" Kat hinted as she squirmed in her seat.

Cameron closed her mouth then opened it again as if to say something, but no words came out.

"Cameron?" Remy nudged the blonde in the side.

Cameron blinked. "Right…Sorry. I was just…Really?"

Kat made a face and nodded reluctantly. "You can guess why I'm not exactly spreading that information around the hospital."

Cameron nodded emphatically. "Yeah. I mean…God, if the nurses knew that going in, they might not have given you a chance."

Kat nodded. "That's kinda what I figured. I didn't have a lot of contact with him growing up, but the little contact I did have made quite an impression, and needless to say, it was not a positive one. It's more complicated than that, but I'd rather not get into it if that's ok."

"Sure," Cameron replied empathetically. "And don't worry…My lips are sealed."

Kat smiled gratefully. "Thank you!"

"Who's ready for another drink?" Remy asked, raising up the bottle of wine to interrupt the awkward topic of conversation.

"Me!" Kat replied enthusiastically.

Remy grinned at her. _God she's cute! _

Cameron took in the look the Remy shot Kat and a thought struck her. _Interesting. _"So how's living together going?"

Kat shrugged. "It's going great!"

"Good!" Cameron replied genuinely.

"Would you like more wine too?" Remy asked Cameron.

"Sure. Thanks," Cameron looked inquisitively at Remy.

Remy glanced up when she felt Cameron's eyes studying her. "What?"

Cameron shook her head. "Nothing."

Remy gave her a skeptical look, but let it go.

"So where am I sleeping tonight?" Cameron turned her attention back to Kat.

"Well…We have an uncomfortable couch…Or my bed or Remy's. They're both big enough to sleep two comfortably, if you don't mind. And if Chase won't mind. Or actually…Remy, could I sleep with you, then Cameron could have my bed?"

"I don't want to put you out of your bed. I don't mind sharing," Cameron said, as she watched Remy for her reaction to the possibility of spending the night in bed with Kat. She didn't miss the way that Remy's eyes seemed to light up a little.

Kat looked at Remy too.

"I'm fine. You can sleep in my room," Remy replied, trying not to appear anxious as she was aware of Cameron's eyes scrutinizing her face again.

"See? It's no problem," Kat turned back to Cameron. "Take my room."

"If you're sure…"

Kat nodded emphatically. "I'm sure."

"Ok."

"Good…Ok, I'll be right back. I've gotta pee!" Kat headed out of the room.

Remy smiled after her friend then turned back to Cameron.

"So how long have you liked her?" Cameron asked her matter-of-factly.

Remy's eyes widened in surprise. "Excuse me?"

"House is just guessing in his teasing, but I'm not," Cameron said.

"I…I don't like her…I mean of course I like her. She's my friend. But I don't like her how you mean I like her," Remy replied defensively.

Cameron raised a skeptical eyebrow.

"I don't," Remy reiterated.

Cameron shrugged. "Ok. But if you change your mind and you want to talk about it, you know where to find me."

"I…uh…"

"She's coming back," Cameron muttered as Kat bounced back into the kitchen.

Remy closed her mouth, but continued to look at Cameron incredulously. _If she can tell, then maybe House will figure it out soon too! Shit! This is the last thing I need!_

"Everyone ok?" Kat asked taking in Remy's expression.

Cameron kicked Remy under the table.

"Wha..? Yeah. All good," Remy recovered quickly.

"Good," Kat lifted her wine glass. "How about a toast?"

"To what?" Cameron asked.

"Friends?" Kat suggested.

"Sounds good to me," Cameron replied, also lifting her glass. "To friends!"

Remy picked up her glass and echoed her friends.

"So…one last question on the House issue," Cameron said when they'd put their glasses down.

Kat grimaced. "Yeah?"

"Why did you come to work here if you dislike him so much?"

Kat sighed. "Cuddy offered me more money if I'd help keep him in line. With med school debts and what not, it was a hard deal to turn down. Besides…I like working in the ER."

Cameron nodded. It made sense. "So Cuddy knows he's your uncle."

Kat nodded. "Unfortunately."

"Well, she hasn't told anyone…so that's something," Cameron said.

"True," Kat replied.

"Ok…I promise, that's the last time I'll bring House up tonight!"

Kat grinned. "Thanks."

Remy ignored her stomach as it did a small jealous flip at the smile that Kat gave Cameron. She was determined not to let her feelings show.


	26. Chapter 26

A/N: Sorry there's been such a big pause. I'm getting married in two weeks so life's a little busy.

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"So what was it last night? A big lesbian orgy?" House asked as Cameron, Kat, and Remy got out of the car and almost in unison rolled their eyes. House, on the other hand, was thoroughly enjoying arriving to work before his niece. It was always so interesting to see who she'd arrive with.

"Can three people really constitute an orgy? Wouldn't it just be a threesome?" Cameron retorted.

"You could have invited more people over," House pointed out, grinning at his mental image.

"Wouldn't you like to know," Remy rolled her eyes.

"You enjoy fantasizing about your niece with other women? 'Cause I gotta tell you…That's a whole new weird type of disturbed that I hadn't previously attributed to you," Kat cut in.

House scowled immediately as his mental image suddenly became perverted and wrong…well more wrong than he enjoyed it.

Kat grinned at her small victory and continued walking into the hospital. House followed along behind the three women, hoping that a witty reply would occur to him before Cameron and Kat broke off to head to the ER. He didn't like Kat always leaving with the upper hand. How was he ever going to get control back if their encounters always left him feeling inferior.

They reached the hospital doors and Kat and Cameron veered off towards the locker room to change into scrubs. Their progress was interrupted when a young nurse nervously approached them.

House, who had been sulkily heading towards the elevators, noticed and decided to linger to find out what was going on.

"Dr. McManus?" the young woman said in a timid voice.

"Yeah. Hey…It's Lindsey, right?" Kat smiled at the young brunette.

The woman appeared to be trying to get up the guts to say something. She nodded. "Yeah."

"What can I do for you this morning?" Kat asked.

"I was…Well…Um…" the young woman blushed deeply.

Remy turned around when she realized that House was no longer following her. She saw the nurse blush and saw the look in her eye and recognized it immediately. The girl had a crush on Kat. No doubt about it. And if she could see it, House probably could too. _Great! Just what I need! Someone else with a crush on Kat!_

Kat waited patiently, trying to figure out what Lindsey wanted.

Lindsey looked around nervously and then looked back at Kat. She started to open her moth to say something, but then thought better of it. "I'm considering applying to med school in the fall, and I was thinking about a specialty in emergency medicine. I know what it's like from a nurse's perspective. I was just wondering if I could shadow you do see what it's like from the doctor's perspective." She smiled hopefully. It was a good cover, and it wasn't a complete lie, so she hoped that Kat wouldn't see that she'd been originally going to ask something else.

Kat smiled at her. "Yeah! Sure! I don't have a problem with it. Just check with Cuddy, and assuming she says yes, I'll meet you in the ER in, let's say a half an hour?"

Lindsey scurried off to Cuddy's office, excited at the prospect of getting to spend the day with Kat. Remy scowled after her. She instantly replaced her frown with a bored look when she saw House's attention turn back to her.

"Did you witness that little exchange? I think you've got some competition," House teased her.

Remy shrugged. "Don't know what you're talking about. Now are you going to come to work? Or should I go on without you?" Remy didn't wait for an answer and turned to stride away to the elevator, resisting the temptation to glance back at Kat.

House raised an eyebrow but held his retort. Everything that he was thinking was pure conjecture. _Still…_ he thought, _I'll have to keep an even more watchful eye on those two. _

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Kat had thoroughly enjoyed her day so far. She had had limited contact with House, she'd managed to see Remy a couple of times, and Lindsey was turning out to be not only quite eager, but also helpful and funny to boot. When lunch rolled around she asked Lindsey if she wanted to have lunch with her, Remy, and Cameron. The young woman had practically beamed at her. Kat grinned to herself as they carried their trays of food to the table where Cameron and Remy were waiting for them.

"Hello there you two," Cameron greeted them as they sat down with one eyebrow raised. She'd clearly been able to spot Lindsey's attraction for Kat.

"Hello," Kat replied with a smile as she took a seat next to Remy.

"Having fun?" Remy asked, trying not to sound bitter or jealous.

"It's been a pretty good day," Kat nodded. "Remy, meet Lindsey. She's a nurse here, but she's shadowing me in the ER to see if she really wants to go into emergency medicine."

"Yeah, I heard the conversation this morning. Cool," Remy said halfheartedly. Then added in a slightly more cheerful voice, "Nice to meet you."

Cameron shot Remy a look, but said nothing. "So are you enjoying our world?" she asked, turning to Lindsey.

Lindsey glanced at Kat, a look that did not go unnoticed by either Cameron or Remy, then nodded vigorously. "Yeah. I'm leaning more and more towards specializing in emergency medicine."

Kat smiled at her. "Glad we're bringing you over to the dark side," she teased with a wink. Much to Kat's oblivion and Remy's annoyance, Lindsey blushed.

"Oh, I forgot to get a drink," Lindsey said as she glanced down at her tray. "I'll be right back."

As Lindsey scurried away, Remy turned to Kat. "You're kidding right?"

Kat's expression changed to one of confusion. "What?"

"She doesn't have an interest in emergency medicine. She has an interest in you," Remy pointed out.

"What? Don't be ridiculous! What's with you? Why would you make something like that up?" Kat asked incredulously.

"I'm not making it up! She totally has a crush on you! Even House sees it!" Remy replied.

Kat glared and Remy turned helplessly to Cameron for support.

"She does seem to have a keen interest in you," Cameron added reluctantly.

"She does not. She's just nice to me because she wants my help at work, and maybe, just maybe, she's a nice person," Kat retorted, pushing her food away. "I've lost my appetite."

"Kat!" Remy pleaded as Kat stood up.

"I'll talk to you both later. Maybe once you guys have realized how silly you're being," Kat said before stalking off to find Lindsey.

Remy turned hopelessly to Cameron. "Ok, so you were right. What do I do?"

Cameron was confused for a second as her brain worked out what Remy was talking about. A small smile formed at the curves of her lips. "Right about what?"

"You know…About Kat," Remy started to blush.

Cameron played innocent. "What about Kat?"

Remy sighed. "You're really going to make me say it, aren't you?"

Cameron nodded slightly smugly.

"Fine!" Remy glared. "You were right. I like her. Ok? Now what do I do?"

"That depends," Cameron replied.

"On?"

"On what you want to do about it."

"Well I don't know what I want to do about it! Other than not screw up our friendship that is," Remy covered her face with her hands. _Why is life so complicated?_

"Well, you should start by not acting so unreasonably jealous of Lindsey," Cameron suggested.

Remy considered glaring, but then sighed. She knew that Cameron was right. "Ok. Then what?"

"Are you going to be happy with just being her friend? What if she does start to date Lindsey…or someone else?" Cameron asked.

"I…" Remy didn't know what to say. To be honest, she hadn't thought about it. She'd been so comfortable in the relationship they had, and it wasn't like either of them had a lot of spare time to go out and meet people. She hadn't felt that she needed to worry. "I don't know."

"Well, maybe you should figure that out," Cameron pointed out.

"Yeah…Right…" Remy sighed again. "Ok, well, I've kinda lost my appetite too. May as well go back upstairs."

"What's House having you work on today?"

"His paperwork. You know he can't be bothered to do his own," Remy replied as she stood and cleared her tray.

"Have fun!" Cameron called after her.

"Ha, yeah…right!"

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"So are you going to tell me why you were so upset at lunch? Why I ditched my lunch?" Lindsey asked as she and Kat were filling out charts later that afternoon.

"It was nothing. It was stupid," Kat grumbled.

"It got you pretty upset," Lindsey commented carefully. She didn't want to aggravate Kat further, especially since she was still trying to work up the nerves to ask her out.

"That would be because it was stupid," Kat replied.

"Tell me anyway," Lindsey coaxed as she inched closer.

"It was just…" Kat glanced at Lindsey and suddenly felt self-conscious. "Ok, was really nothing, it was just that Remy and Cameron have gotten this crazy idea…" Kat trailed off.

"Which is?" Lindsey prompted, turning to face Kat fully. Kat's body turned unconsciously to face her in return.

Kat felt her cheeks flush slightly. "It's just they thought…and I don't know where they got this idea, but they…they think that…well, that you like me." Kat mumbled the last four words.

Lindsey felt her face turn red, but she decided not to back down for once in her life. "Oh…Well…" She swallowed hard. "I do."

"What?"

"I do like you," Lindsey said plainly.

"Right, yeah, but I mean they think you have a crush on me," Kat clarified, still confused.

"I do…" Lindsey was slightly quieter now, as her temporary confidence was quickly draining. "Well, I mean, I know I don't know you that well or anything, but I _definitely_ noticed you around the hospital. I mean how could you not…"

Kat's blush deepened.

"…and rumor has it that you're like the Anti-House, which in itself is a definite good thing. And then this morning…well I was going to ask you if you wanted to grab coffee some time, but then I chickened out, and I wasn't really sure if you'd be interested or not, because, well first of all, Carol said she was pretty sure you were straight, and then also…well…I'm me," Lindsey finished lamely. She fought the instinct to turn and run away in embarrassment. She'd said it, now she had to live with it.

"Oh…But you're…I mean…Ok…first off…and I'd rather this didn't get around the hospital…you know what? Why don't we go somewhere else. This chart can wait," Kat looked around the ER and spotted Cameron and strode over to her. "Cover us for a few minutes, please."

"Not mad at me anymore?" Cameron asked.

"No. Sorry. I wasn't…Can I apologize later?" Kat gave a pointed glance towards Lindsey who was waiting tentatively where Kat had left her.

Cameron raised a suggestive eyebrow, but didn't comment. "Yeah. Sure. I've got you covered."

"I'll explain later," Kat said as thanks.

"I expect details," Cameron winked at her.

Kat sighed, but turned and headed back to Lindsey. "Come with me." Kat led Lindsey through the ER out to the elevators. They took the elevator to the top floor, where Kat led her out and to the staircase. Lindsey obediently followed Kat up the stairs and out onto the roof. Kat did a sweep to make sure they were alone, then she turned back to face Lindsey again.

"First of all…I'm not straight, but, seeing as it doesn't affect my daily work, I'd rather that not be common knowledge around the hospital."

Lindsey nodded.

"Secondly, why would you think I wouldn't notice you?" Kat asked.

"Well…Did you? Before I came to talk to you today?"

"Well…No," Kat admitted. "But I'm new to the hospital. Everyone's new to me. I really haven't noticed much of anyone besides the patients I've seen and the few people I've worked with. And that list now includes you."

Lindsey shuffled her feet awkwardly, she wasn't sure what to say. "Oh."

"And from what I've seen, you're great," Kat added, not sure exactly where this was coming from.

"Oh?" Lindsey seemed to perk up a little at that. "Look, I know you've only known me for a day…but do you have any interest in going to dinner with me sometime? Just…like…a preliminary date or something? To get to know one another better?"

Kat looked at Lindsey, really looked for the first time that day. She was pretty cute, Kat had to admit. Her deep brown eyes looked up eagerly at her, and Kat felt a slight flutter. "Yeah. Sure. Sounds good."

Lindsey grinned and the flutter Kat felt increased slightly.

"Right…So," Kat cleared her throat, "um…when did you have in mind?"

"What are your dinner plans tomorrow night?"

"Well, as of a couple of minutes ago, I believe I'm having dinner with you," Kat replied with a grin.

Lindsey's smile widened. "Pick you up at seven?"

"It's a date," Kat replied as they headed back to the stairs.


	27. Chapter 27

"I mean, I haven't had a Friday night date in forever!" Kat said to Remy and Cameron who were sitting on the couch, watching their friend pace back and forth and recount her conversation with Lindsey. "I don't even know if I remember how to date!"

"It's like going out with friends, only more kissing and more one on one time," Cameron said helpfully. Kat had coaxed her into coming back to their place after work again, with the promise of an apology and an explanation.

Remy repressed a grimace at that comment as her stomach churned. She was definitely not thrilled about this. She really hadn't thought that Kat would say yes to a date. Remy felt Cameron put a hand on hers and squeeze. Clearly her discomfort wasn't going unnoticed by everyone. Remy tried to put on a smile. Like Cameron had said, if she wanted to keep the friendship with Kat, she needed to not act so jealous of Lindsey. "Well, then it's about time you had a date. You should go out. Have fun," Remy managed, though her heart wasn't in it.

Kat groaned and slumped down in a chair. "Yeah. I guess…but it's so…I don't know. I mean the last person I kissed someone…I mean really kissed them was…well, too long ago. Dating's just so…stressful."

Cameron shot Remy a sympathetic smile before turning back to Kat. "It could be fun. Just relax. She called it a preliminary date, right? So no pressure. You're just going out to see if maybe you could like each other enough to try a real date," Cameron pointed out. "Besides, there'll probably be less kisses…maybe even none…So you don't have to worry about that." Cameron half threw that in for Remy's benefit, half to attempt to ease Kat's apparent discomfort at the idea.

Kat looked at her two friends, Cameron and then Remy. Her eyes lingered on Remy. She was clearly hiding something, but Kat couldn't figure out what. Remy glanced up at her and Kat caught her breath for a second. She'd forgotten what a look into Remy's eyes could do to her in the drama of the day. _Well maybe this will be a good thing then. Maybe it'll help you get over whatever it is about Remy that makes you feel this way when she looks at you like that, because it is not a very roommate-y way to feel. _"You're right. Maybe it won't be so bad. I should just relax."

"Yes. Relaxing sounds like a very good idea," Cameron encouraged. _Both of you._ She added silently.

"If you don't mind, I think I'm going to go lay down," Remy announced standing up. "I've got a headache," she added by way of explanation. The truth was that she didn't really want to sit there and listen to Kat talk about her date for one more second.

"Oh. I'm sorry. I didn't know. Sure. Feel better!" Kat called after her. She looked back at Cameron. "Is she ok?"

Cameron shrugged. "Yeah. She's fine," she lied.

"Ok," Kat replied uncertainly. "Maybe I should take her some ibuprofen or something."

"You know what? You're stressed enough. Why don't you sit here and relax a little. I'll get her the ibuprofen and something to take it with," Cameron offered. "Just, tell me where it is."

"Bathroom cabinet," Kat said, closing her eyes in thought as Cameron wondered away.

Cameron got a glass of water from the kitchen and, to keep up her excuse, got the bottle of ibuprofen from the medicine cabinet before heading to Remy's room. She knocked lightly. When Remy didn't respond she opened the door and walked in.

"Hey!" Remy said defensivevly.

"I did knock," Cameron pointed out.

"And I didn't reply," Remy replied. "Indicating I wanted to be alone."

Cameron ignored her and set the glass of water and the ibuprofen on her bedside table before taking a seat on the bed next to where Remy was lying. "Want to talk about it?"

"No. That goes with the whole 'wanting to be alone' thing."

"It's not even a real date. It's like before a real date," Cameron tried to sooth her friend.

"Doesn't mean it's not going to turn into a real date," Remy scowled.

"Doesn't mean it is either," Cameron argued. "Remy…I don't think she really wants to date Lindsey. I think the whole thing caught her off guard. I don't think Lindsey's her type."

"What? Cute and smart and interested in emergency medicine? What is her type then?"

Cameron shrugged. She didn't know why, but something in the look that Kat had given Remy out there had made her suspect that maybe the feelings between them didn't only run one way. "I don't know. I just don't think it's Lindsey."

Remy didn't want to get her hopes up. "Maybe this is for the best though."

"Why do you say that?" Cameron asked in surprise.

"Maybe seeing her with someone else will help me get over liking her," Remy suggested.

Cameron shook her head. "I don't think so. I think…"

"What?" Remy prompted when Cameron didn't continue.

"I just don't think it will," Cameron replied.

"Well…I guess we'll see."

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"Remy, please help me?" Kat pleaded. She'd continuously become more and more of a nervous wreck as the day had progressed. "Lindsey's going to pick me up in an hour and I still have no idea what I'm going to wear!"

Remy sighed. Kat was giving her puppy dog eyes. How was she supposed to resist? "Fine." Remy let Kat grab her hand and drag her to her bedroom. Remy flopped down on Kat's bed and looked expectantly at Kat.

"Ok, so I've tried on a couple of outfits, but I just…I dunno," Kat looked hopelessly at Remy. "Just let me try a couple of things on for you and tell me what you think?"

Remy nodded. "Sure." She was trying to be supportive, but it wasn't easy. As far as Remy was concerned, Kat was far too nervous for this "preliminary date".

"Thank you, thank you, thank you," Kat said appreciatively.

As Kat tugged off her shirt to change, Remy's breath caught in her throat. She felt a tingle run through her. She told herself to avert her eyes, but she couldn't bring herself to do so. Kat was just so hot. _Talk about a perfect figure,_ Remy thought to herself. As Kat pulled on a new shirt, Remy found herself feeling disappointed, both that Kat was once again fully clothed and that she wasn't putting all this effort together for a date with Remy herself. The new shirt was hunter green and the green in Kat's eyes as well as the red tints in her hair were accentuated. On top of that, the shirt clung in all the right places.

"Wow," Remy breathed despite herself. She didn't really want Kat to look that good on her date with Lindsey, but she'd been able to stop the compliment.

"You think?" Kat asked. "I wouldn't wear it with these pants, obviously. I was thinking these black ones." Kat pulled a pair of black slacks off of the bed that Remy remembered from a previous outing hugged Kat in an extremely flattering way, accentuating just enough the curves of her butt.

Remy groaned internally. Kat was going to look ridiculously hot. There would be nothing to stop Lindsey crush from turning into full-blown desire. _You want to stay friends!_ Remy reminded herself. "You're going to look fantastic."

"You're not just saying that? Is it too dressy do you think? I have this other top I was going to try on for you…"

Remy was torn. On the one hand, she knew that Kat looked ridiculously good in the shirt she was wearing. On the other hand, Remy didn't want Kat to look ridiculously good, and if she was going to try on another shirt, then she would take off the one that she was currently wearing. "Go ahead and try the other one on," she said, resenting herself for her selfishness.

Kat took off the green shirt, tossing it on the bed besides Remy, and pulled a light blue T-shirt out of her drawer. Once again Remy enjoyed her view. She felt her heart rate speed up.

"It's a little less formal, but…" Kat trailed off, as she tugged the second shirt over her head.

"That looks good too. Maybe less formal is better…Less pressure," Remy suggested hopefully.

Kat eyed Remy for a second. She could tell that Remy thought that the first shirt looked better, but somehow she couldn't bring herself to put it back on for her date with Lindsey. "Yeah. You're probably right. I'll go with this. And maybe…" Kat pulled a pair of tight jeans out of her drawer. "These?"

"You'll look very hot," Remy said honestly. _Just not as hot as you would have in the other outfit._ She added in her head.

"Thank you for your help!" Kat smiled at Remy and Remy once again felt her heart flutter.

"Yeah…No problem." She stood up, reluctant to leave, but recognizing that she needed to. "Stop by before you head out and say goodbye, ok?"

"Definitely! Who else would quell my anxieties about how I look once I'm all dressed?" Kat replied lightly.

Remy smiled, but her heart wasn't in it. "You always look great," she retorted honestly as she walked out of the room.

Kat rolled her eyes. "Yeah, whatever. I'll see you in few," Kat called after her.

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"Are you…having fun?" Lindsey asked nervously. The conversation had been awkward. It seemed harder than it should have been, intensified by the nervousness of both parties.

"Yeah," Kat smiled, trying to be reassuring. In truth, she was finding the whole experience rather nerve racking. It wasn't that Lindsey wasn't nice, she seemed to be great. It was just that somehow Kat couldn't get past the fact that maybe she'd only felt a flutter the other day on the roof because she'd been excited at the prospect of being liked, not necessarily because she was liked by Lindsey specifically. The food had certainly been a welcome distraction from the awkward attempts at conversation.

"So, how's living with Dr. Hadley?" Lindsey asked, trying to get the conversation flowing. Despite all of the rumors that she'd heard about the young doctor, she had yet to have heard that she'd moved in with Kat.

"Remy? It's great! Remy's so much fun. I was worried that after Jenny, that's my old roommate, left, that I'd miss her a ton and wouldn't really have any friends in the area, but then I met Remy, and well…She's just been great. She really takes my mind off of the fact that Jenny's gone, and she seems to do it effortlessly," Kat explained, surprised by how easy she found talking about Remy. The words practically flowed out of her before she had time to think about them.

Lindsey noticed too. She wasn't blind. She saw the way that Kat's eyes had lit up at the mere mention of the name of the other doctor. Well, she could take a hint. Besides, she had kind of sprung this date on Kat. And Kat was nice, why would she say no. Clearly her affections lay elsewhere, though. She felt her stomach turn over. The more she thought about it, the more she could see the two of them together. From the little she knew about them, they'd probably be a pretty good fit. "She seems really nice," Lindsey finally ventured.

The two turned their attention back to their food, Kat sensing the change in the atmosphere between the two of them.

"Are you having fun?" Kat asked after a few minutes.

Lindsey nodded. "Yeah. It's just…"

"What?" Kat prodded.

"Well, I kinda get the impression that you'd rather be here with someone else."

This caught Kat off guard. She hadn't really been thinking that it would be better to be out with someone else, but...Well, now that Lindsey mentioned it, she'd spent a lot of the "date" thinking about someone else. That had been why it'd been so easy to talk about her once she was brought up. Kat didn't want to admit it though. For starters she didn't want to hurt Lindsey, but also she knew that she shouldn't be thinking about Remy. "No."

Lindsey raised a skeptical eyebrow. "It's ok. I don't mind."

Despite her words, Lindsey's disappointment was evident.

"I'm really sorry," Kat said automatically. "I didn't think…I didn't mean to…I really shouldn't even like her…I didn't think I did. Not really."

Lindsey looked back up at Kat surprised by her words. Clearly the woman sitting across from her had not set out to hurt her. "You didn't know that you liked her?" she asked skeptically.

"I shouldn't like her," Kat replied.

"But…Why not? Is she seeing someone?" Curiosity was definitely helping Lindsey get over her disappointment.

"No, but…She's my housemate. And my colleague. And I'm pretty sure she doesn't like me. Besides, it's just too complicated," Kat tried to explain. "Look, I'm really sorry. I shouldn't still be talking about her. Let's just get back to getting to know each other."

"But we're agreed, this isn't a date," it was half statement and half question.

"Yeah, but…Look I know this probably didn't go as you planned, but I'd still like to be your friend. And, if you're still interested in emergency medicine, I don't want to put a damper on that either. I'm still definitely willing to have you shadow me or help you out however you need."

Lindsey smiled. "Thanks. I am serious…about the medicine that is. It did happen to be a convenient cover the other day, but I really am interested in it. I was before I met you."

Kat smiled again. She found herself relaxing now that some of the pressure was off.

The conversation began to flow more easily then and the rest of the evening passed fairly quickly. Kat couldn't help but think that Lindsey was taking it better than she would have if the shoe were on the other foot. When Lindsey finally dropped Kat off at home later that night, Kat gave her a big hug. "Thanks, for being so understanding. You're really great."

"No problem. It's not my first rejection. I've also been on the receiving end of romantic attention when I liked someone else. I understand," Lindsey replied.

"Still…I appreciate it," Kat smiled at her.

"Yeah…Oh, and don't worry. I won't tell her, or anyone else at the hospital."

"Thanks," Kat once again appreciated the maturity that Lindsey was showing. Maybe she hadn't gotten a new girlfriend tonight, but she was fairly certain that she'd made a new friend.


	28. Chapter 28

A/N: I'd recommend listening to Matt Nathanson's "Come on Get Higher" and Sugarcult's "Bouncing off the Walls" to better picture the last little scene in this post.

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"So how'd it go?"

Remy's voice startled Kat. She'd assumed that Remy would be asleep by now. "It was…I dunno. It was interesting. I don't think there's going to be a second date though."

"How come?" Remy asked, unsure if she was completely successful about leaving the happiness out of her voice.

Kat shrugged. She certainly wasn't ready to throw away her friendship with Remy by admitting that she liked her. "We just weren't right for each other. She's great, she's just…not for me."

"Oh," Remy was sure she hadn't kept the cheer out of her voice that time. "Well, someone else will come along. I'm sure."

Kat smiled at her. "Yeah. I know. What're you still doing up?"

Remy shrugged. "I couldn't sleep." It wasn't as if she could admit that she was waiting up for her.

"Well in that case, want some ice cream?" Kat asked. "I could use some."

Remy grinned. "Sure."

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"So….How's life down there?"

Kat grinned. It was so good to hear Jenny's voice. "It's going ok."

"Oh yeah? Anything…interesting happening?"

Kat laughed. "Not especially."

Jenny scowled. She'd expected Remy to have made her move by now. "Nothing new on the romantic front?" she prompted.

Kat rolled her eyes. Even from hundreds of miles away, Jenny still wouldn't give up trying to play matchmaker for her. She should have known. "Well…I did have a date the other day."

"Really?"

Kat could hear the excitement in Jenny's voice.

"Anyone I know?" Jenny added hopefully.

"No. It was someone from work. Her name's Lindsey, and it was just one date. There won't be a second one."

"Oh? How come?" Jenny was glad that the conversation was over the phone, because there was no way that she could have hid her grin at the second part of that.

"I dunno…I mean…Well, I do know, but…" Kat sighed. There was no way that Jenny was going to let her get away without telling her, but there was also no way that Jenny would let it drop once she told her.

"But what? You soooo have to tell me!" _Not that I don't already know,_ Jenny added to herself.

"Promise not to say anything or to try to get us together?" Kat asked.

"No!" Jenny replied.

Kat sighed. She'd expected that answer, but still she'd hoped. "Look, just don't tell her, ok? I don't want to screw up our friendship."

"Fine," Jenny grumbled. _They are ridiculous!_

"I realized that…When I was on the date I realized that I didn't want to be on the date with Lindsey…"

"And…Who did you want to be on the date with?" Jenny prompted impatiently.

Kat swallowed hard and took a deep breath. "Remy."

"No shit Sherlock!" Jenny couldn't resist.

"You knew?"

"Babe, come on! I know you! Of course I knew!"

"And you couldn't tell me?" Kat asked indignantly.

"No. For starters, it would take all the fun out of this conversation. Also, I had to let you figure it out on your own. If I'd told you that you liked her, you would have said 'yeah right' and ignored me," Jenny pointed out.

Kat considered this. "True."

"Exactly. Now what are you going to do, now that you've realized that you like her?" Jenny asked expectantly.

"Nothing! Are you crazy? She's my friend, and I don't want to screw that up. I'll just…deal."

Jenny groaned internally. She wished she could knock some sense into the two of them. Still, she didn't really want to betray Remy. "Well, I say you do something about it."

"I'll think about it."

Jenny recognized that for the brush off that it was. "Think hard."

Kat sighed in exasperation. "Fine." Kat heard noise in the background.

"I gotta go. Love you!" Jenny said hurriedly.

"What? That's hardly fair! You got my news and I got none of yours!" Kat protested.

"I'm sorry babe, but I really have to go!" Jenny replied.

"Fine," Kat pouted.

"Love you."

"You too," Kat replied before hearing the click of the connection cutting off. She sighed at her phone. "What am I gonna do with you?" she asked aloud to the empty room.

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"Thank God this week is over! It was hell!" Kat flopped down on the couch.

"Yeah, patients with projectile vomit and lots of interactions with House will do that!" Remy agreed. "I say we need some music!"

"Go for it."

Remy went to the speakers hooked up to her iPod and set it on shuffle. A grin spread across her face when she recognized the first song.

Kat's head bobbed along to the rhythm. "Who is this?"

"Matt Nathanson," Remy replied as she began to dance to the song. "_So come on get higher, loosen my lips, faith and desire and the swing of your hips, just pull me down hard and drown me in love…_" she sang along to the chorus as she reached out an imploring hand to Kat to join her in her dancing.

Kat grinned but shook her head in resistance. _God, look at her body move! Does she have any idea how ridiculously sexy she is right now? _The chorus came on again and Kat grinned, thinking about the swing of Remy's hips and how badly she wished that she could pull Remy down hard on top of her right now.

"What?" Remy asked at the expression on Kat's face.

Kat blushed. "Nothing."

"Come dance with me. Please? It'll make you feel better!"

Kat sighed, but it was more for show than anything else. "Fine." She stood and Remy grabbed her hand pulling her closer and dancing around her.

Kat found herself very aware of the movement of Remy's body so close to hers. Suddenly the trials and tribulations of the week were forgotten.

Remy grinned at Kat, inching closer to her. _She's so gorgeous. We've just had the week from hell and she still manages to look incredible. How does she do it? No! Stop thinking like that! She's your friend and housemate. Remember that! Don't screw it up!_ Despite what her mind was saying, Remy couldn't help but find herself incredibly attracted to the green eyed goddess in front of her. The song ended and Remy paused for a second, waiting to hear what would come on next.

Kat watched in awe as Remy began bouncing around goofily.

"_I'm bouncing off the walls again,_" Remy sang.

Kat giggled. _How does she have the energy? She's so amazing!_

Remy caught Kat's giggle and started laughing too. She had to admit that right now was completely making up for the week they'd had. She was thoroughly enjoying herself. She just wished that her body would stop being so acutely aware of Kat's. She felt like electricity was running through her every time their skin brushed against each other. _It's amazing how this is so relaxing and exciting at the same time._

When the song ended Kat flopped back down on the couch, out of breath. She needed to put some space back between her and Remy or she was going to do something she'd regret. Jenny had been wrong. She couldn't ruin the friendship she'd formed with Remy by saying something. She just couldn't.

The doorbell ringing surprised them both. Remy skipped to the door and opened it.

"Surprise!" Jenny grabbed Remy and hugged her.

Kat's jaw dropped. "What're you…You're here? Why didn't you tell us you were coming for a visit?" She stood and ran to her friend.

Jenny met her halfway and wrapped her in a hug too. "And miss the expression on your face? No way!"

"You're evil!" Kat laughed.

"You know you're happy to see me!" Jenny countered.

Kat couldn't deny that. "Maybe."

"Ha! Maybe my ass! You're thrilled to see me!" Jenny retorted.

Kat grinned. "To what do we owe the pleasure of your company?"

"Well…I missed you guys and I decided that, as I had the weekend off, I'd drive down and surprise you both!" Jenny replied.

Kat hugged Jenny again. "I missed you!"

"I know, I know. But I'm here now! Let's go out and party!" Jenny grinned. "Go get dressed. Dinner's on me!" Jenny shoved Remy and Kat off towards the bedrooms. _Now I just have to get you two together finally while I'm here!_


	29. Chapter 29

"So are you just going to stand here all night, watching her get hit on by other women and pining after her, or are you going to finally get your act together and make your move?" Jenny was sick of waiting. She needed to be direct with Remy because clearly subtlety had gotten them nowhere.

"What?" Remy turned to Jenny, eyes wide in surprise.

"Well, before you chew that straw to death, I just thought maybe you'd like to go tell Kat how you fell?" Jenny suggested.

Remy looked at the straw in her drink, and it was indeed mangled. She hadn't even been aware that she'd been chewing on it. Instead her focus had been on glaring at the blonde who had been attempting to chat up Kat for most of the night.

"You know, I thought I'd sorted you two out, set you on the right track before I left for New York! Then I get no phone call letting me know that you two have gotten together. Then I call and she's been on a date with someone else…I mean seriously!"

"I thought what you were saying was that I should stay away from her to not complicate her life further!" Remy replied.

"How the hell did you get that from what I said? You know what, forget it. Just fix it now!" Jenny tried to shove Remy towards Kat, but she resisted.

"She doesn't even like me! Why would I put myself out there just to get hurt and make things awkward at home?" Remy argued.

"Are you really that blind? Look, just do me a favor. Go kiss her…and I mean really kiss her. Kiss her with all of the feelings that you've been keeping pent up. If she doesn't return it, then I'll tell her I dared you or something. I'll smooth it over. Trust me."

Remy hesitated for a second, but here Jenny was, giving her a chance to do something that she'd fantasized about doing for weeks, and giving her an out if it blew up in her face somehow. "I can't. What if she doesn't believe you? Sorry."

Jenny sighed. She didn't want to betray her best friend's confidence, but this was getting ridiculous. How could two people so obviously meant for each other be so blind? "Ok, I'm breaking one of my own personal rules here, but did you ask Kat why her date didn't work out?"

"She said that Lindsey just wasn't for her," Remy replied.

"Did you ask her who might be for her?" Jenny prompted.

Remy was about to reply, but she realized that she hadn't. She shook her head.

"Look. I don't care if you don't make your move tonight, but…don't hold it in until it's too late and then regret it forever! Ok?"

Remy looked at Jenny and could see her sincerity. She turned her gaze back to Kat. The blonde was still blatantly throwing herself at Kat, but Kat didn't seem all that interested. What was Jenny trying to say? That she was the girl for Kat? That seemed improbable, but still… Jenny was right. If she never even tried, she'd probably always regret it. She felt Jenny cross behind her and move in close.

"In case you missed what I was trying to say…She likes you, you idiot," Jenny whispered in Remy's ear before heading to the bar to get another drink.

Remy's eyes widened. _Guess I'm out of excuses!_ She took a deep breath and swallowed hard. "Now or never," she muttered to herself.

Jenny turned to glance back at Remy, and smiled in satisfaction as she watched her cross the bar to Kat.

"Hey," Kat grinned at Remy as she approached.

"Hey. I need to talk to you," Remy grabbed Kat's arm, feigned a smile at the blonde, and dragged Kat away towards the back where there were less people.

"It was nice to meet you," Kat called apologetically over her shoulder at the girl she'd been talking to. She was baffled by Remy's behavior.

Remy spun around to face Kat once they'd reached a somewhat isolated spot in the bar. "I need to…We should…I mean I thought…But Jenny…And now…Well I should…"

Kat put a finger to Remy's lips. "Slow down. Finish a sentence. What's gotten in to you? What's wrong?"

Remy gazed into Kat's eyes and knew that she couldn't fight it anymore. "Kat?"

"Yeah?" Kat was finding herself mesmerized by the look in Remy's eyes.

"I…" Remy's mind reeled with what to say, but she couldn't find the words. Instead, she put her hands on either side of Kat's face and pulled her in to her. She hesitated for a moment when their faces were centimeters apart and gazed one more time into Kat's piercing green eyes, then she closed her eyes and touched her lips to Kat's. Her stomach flipped and electricity branched away from her lips overtaking her whole body.

Kat couldn't react at first. The kiss took her completely by surprise and her brain was too busy racing to catch up to respond. Her lips took over and began to kiss back. Remy's lips were even softer than she'd imagined. Her stomach felt like she'd just crept over the peak of a rollercoaster. She brought her own hand up to cup Remy's face. She'd always thought that the idea of having fireworks exploding in your head was just a cheesy romantic idea, but now she was experiencing it in the best way possible. She felt like she was floating. More than anything, she felt Remy's lips pressing against hers.

_She's not pulling away!_ Remy realized suddenly, and she pulled back in surprise.

"What?" Kat asked, equally as surprised, and somewhat taken aback by the sudden absence of Remy's lips from hers.

"You…I mean…You kissed back!"

Kat grinned at her and pulled her in for another kiss by way of an answer. Her lips parted as Remy's tongue darted in between them.

Remy moaned at the taste of Kat's tongue on her own. It was everything she'd imagined and more. She took a step towards Kat, forcing her back against the wall. Remy could feel her body pressing against Kat's and the heat from her body made Remy's skin feel like it was on fire. She couldn't focus on anything besides the beautiful woman she was pressing against. _Is this even real?_ She pulled back again. "Is this really happening?"

Kat smiled. "I sure as hell hope so!"

"But…Why? Why me?"

"I could ask you the same question…But right now, I'd rather kiss you again."

Remy grinned back at Kat and complied with her request. After a few minutes Remy became vaguely aware of someone patiently clearing their throat beside her and Kat. She tore herself away from Kat for the third time and looked up to see Jenny grinning smugly.

"Sorry to interrupt, but…I told you so," Jenny was practically beaming. "Also: it's about fucking time!"

Kat rolled her eyes. "Shut up Jenny."

"Nuh-uh! Are you kidding? I've been trying to get you two together since…well since pretty soon after we met Remy! You two have been pining after each other for so long!"

"What?" Kat turned to her friend in surprise. "Both of us?"

"Yep."

"And you knew that? When I told you that I liked Remy the other day, you already knew she liked me?"

"Yep."

"And you didn't tell me?" Kat asked incredulously.

"Would that have been fair to Remy?" Jenny pointed out.

"Well…No…I mean…well…hmph," Kat pouted.

Jenny laughed. "You two liked each other before you admitted it to yourselves anyway. I was trying to let the relationship take its inevitable course to wind you up here, but you two are the most stubborn people I have ever met in my life, so it was taking too damn long. I had to nudge Remy here in the right direction. More than once I might add."

"Shut up," Remy glared half heartedly as she couldn't wipe the grin off of her face. Without the nudges, she might not have just been making out with the girl of her dreams.

"So you put all of this effort into getting us together, just to interrupt us the first time we kiss?" Kat asked.

"Yep," Jenny winked. "Ok, no. I was just wondering if I needed to find a hotel room, or find some hot guy…or girl to take me home with them tonight or something?"

"What? No!" Kat replied then glanced hesitantly at Remy. "Does she?"

Remy blushed. "I…um…No! Of course not!"

"Wait did you say 'or girl'?" Kat's brain caught up with her ears.

Jenny winked again. "You two seemed like you were having so much fun. Who knows, maybe I'll give it a try! Now are you two sure that I don't have to find some other place to stay tonight?"

Kat glared at Jenny then turned to Remy apologetically. "Excuse us for a second?" She asked as she yanked Jenny to the side, just out of earshot of Jenny.

"Will you stop asking that, please?" Kat pleaded.

"I'm just making sure!"

"Shut up!" Kat's face turned a deep crimson. "Look, either you'll have a couch to sleep on, or you'll have a bed, either way you can sleep at our place!"

"Did you just admit that you're considering sleeping with Remy before you've even had a first date?" Jenny couldn't resist the tease.

Kat groaned as she blushed even deeper. "Shut up!!"

"Ok, just try to keep your screams of ecstasy to a reasonable noise level. I've got to get my beauty sleep," Jenny grinned ruthlessly.

"Ugh!" Kat groaned in frustration and embarrassment and whacked her friend on the arm. "I'm going back to Remy now!"

"No dry humping in the bar!" Jenny called after her.

"You ok?" Remy asked Kat, noticing the redness in her cheeks.

"Yeah…Jenny's just being Jenny," Kat rolled her eyes.

"That's why you love her," Remy reminded her.

Kat smiled. "True."

"So…you really like me?" Remy asked nervously.

Kat kissed her softly on the lips. "What do you think?"

Remy grinned.

"You really like me?"

Remy kissed Kat back a little harder. "So much."

"I guess we have stuff to talk about then, huh?" Kat said.

"Guess so," Remy inched closer, feeling Kat's warm breath hit her skin.

"Of course, talking can wait…"

Remy's grin widened as Kat pulled her in hard for a deep kiss. "Definitely," she replied mid kiss before getting lost in the incredible sensations that Kat's lips were triggering throughout her body. _Definitely later…_


	30. Chapter 30

Remy slid her hand up Kat's side, wishing that her shirt was out of the way so that she could feel Kat's soft skin beneath. She began to tug at the shirt, but Kat brought her hand down to stop her. Kat rolled Remy off of her and lay there panting for a second. She was incredibly turned on, but they needed to talk. "There are things that we need to sort out before we can go any further."

Remy sighed. "You're right."

Both of them lay there staring at Kat's ceiling and breathing heavily for a few minutes until they'd calmed down enough to talk. Kat's blood was still pounding hard through her body and she felt her hair stand up on end every time Remy moved beside her, but she was trying to concentrate. She didn't know how to start, how to explain all of the emotions and fears that were swirling around in her head.

"So, there are about a million ways that this can go bad and complicate both of our lives…" Remy opened the conversation.

"Yep," Kat agreed.

"If we break up, then we still live together and work together, so that would be awkward," Remy pointed out.

"'If we break up?' Does that mean we're dating?" Kat asked, looking at Remy.

"I sure as hell hope so," Remy replied, winking at Kat.

Kat grinned. "Good. Ok, well now that that's established…If we break up, one of us would have to move out."

"Probably me," Remy added pessimistically. "You've lived here longer."

"Whatever…Maybe it'd be me," Kat pulled the pillow out from under her head and whacked Remy playfully with it, then put it back. "Anyway…If word gets around the hospital, it could make work less tolerable, probably for both of us."

"Definitely for both of us. Are you kidding? Can you imagine if House found out? He would never let us hear the end of it!"

Kat groaned. "Ugh! No kidding! That would probably mean the end of any power I have over him. I can't see almost letting me die, outweigh his glee at finding out that not only am I a lesbian, but I'm also dating my bisexual colleague. Lovely."

"So what are we going to do? How are we going to handle things? What if we break up? What if people find out? I don't really like hiding. Though I don't really like publicizing my private life at work either."

"There are always going to be what ifs," Kat pointed out. "I think we need to not get overwhelmed, for starters. People will inevitably find out, but maybe we can just act as professionally as possible at work, and that can delay them finding out for as long as possible. The fact that I'm a lesbian is potentially out there already, though I don't think Lindsey's the type to spread it around really. She knew at the end of our first date that I was in to you. If she was going to be jealous and petty, she'd probably have done it then. No hanky-panky at work though. If we're going to keep our private lives private, I think we need to agree on that."

"Agreed. It'll be hard keeping my hands off of you," Remy grinned as she turned onto her side and placed her fingers lightly on Kat's lips. Kat kissed them and Remy then trailed her fingers down Kat's torso, stopping just above her pelvis.

Kat moaned in disappointment, then breathed deeply, trying to focus on the conversation at hand. "Right. Well…We'll manage," she took a few more deep breaths, still acutely aware of Remy's hand laying flat on her stomach. She took Remy's hand in her own and held it up to look at it. It looked right. Remy's hand fit perfectly with her own. "So you really like me?"

"Are you kidding? You're amazing! I tried so hard not to like you because I thought it would just screw everything up, but I couldn't deny it. I really, really like you," Remy assured her. "You really like me?"

"Definitely. I couldn't deny it either, much as I tried. You are just…I mean you're sexy, your smart, your sarcastic. What more could a girl ask for?" Kat replied. "I just…I can't believe it worked out. I mean I can't believe that we both like each other. It seems…surreal."

"I know what you mean. When you kissed back in the bar I thought I was dreaming or something. I think I still half expect to wake up."

Kat lay there holding Remy's hand and looking up at the ceiling. She knew what Remy meant. This did almost feel like a dream. A very vivid, extremely good dream. She didn't want to push it. "I need to tell you something, and I need you to not take it the wrong way or read too much into it."

Remy's heart sped up in nervous anticipation. "Ok."

"I don't want to sleep with you tonight. I mean, I don't mind same bed…That would be kinda nice. I mean I don't want to have sex with you tonight."

Remy pulled her hand away. She couldn't help feeling somewhat rejected. "Ouch. Ok. And how should I not take that the wrong way?"

Kat sighed in exasperation with herself. "Look I want you. I want you really badly. But I don't want to rush this. You're…You're too important to me to screw this up by rushing it. If we did break up…Well it would suck a lot. You're not just a girlfriend. You're one of my best friends. I don't want to lose that just because we're together."

Remy put her hand back in Kat's. "Ok. I get that. And you're right. We shouldn't rush. I don't know how long I can contain myself, but I can definitely manage the night."

Kat smiled. "Good."

"But we can still do other things right? Because there's no way that I can go the rest of the night without kissing you!"

Kat's grin broadened. "Oh yeah, no. Kissing is always allowed!"

Taking that as an invitation, Remy leaned over Kat and brought their lips together in a fiery kiss. Excitement soared through her body. _Who needs sex when kissing is this fun?_ She thought to herself. _If kissing is this amazing, just imagine what sex will be like._ Her libido replied.

Kat moaned as Remy shifted on top of her. "You're not going to make this easy are you?"

"I'm going to make it fun," Remy winked and captured her lips again.

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"Hey, I was wondering what you guys were doing for lunch today," Cameron's voice at the other end of the phone line said.

Remy turned a groggy eye towards Kat laying next her in bed. "Sleeping?" she suggested.

"Oh God, did I wake you up? I'm sorry!" Cameron apologized profusely.

"Kinda…" Remy replied, sleep heavy in her voice.

"Sorry. Call me back later!" Cameron said.

"No, no. It's ok. So what's up?" Remy asked, forcing herself awake.

"I just wanted to know if you and Kat wanted to join me for lunch today," Cameron explained.

"Who is it?" Kat mouthed.

"Cameron," Remy mouthed back. She couldn't help but smile at the beautiful woman lying next to her. "She wants to know if we want to go to lunch."

"Tell her yes as long as Jenny can come," Kat whispered.

"Is that Kat? Were you sleeping with Kat? Did I just…" Cameron's voiced raised in pitch with each question.

"Cameron," Remy interrupted. "We will meet you for lunch, with Kat's friend Jenny and we will talk to you then. Why don't we stop by and pick you up at 12:30? I'm going back to sleep now."

"Oh…Ok. Well, 12:30 then," Cameron replied as Remy hung up the phone.

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"Hello," Cameron looked smug as she opened the door. "I've made some lunch, it's in the dining room."

"Cool. Thanks," Kat said, ignoring Cameron's expression. "This is my friend Jenny. She was my housemate until she moved to New York and ditched me."

"Oh yeah, 'cause that worked out so horribly for you," Jenny rolled her eyes as Kat whacked her playfully.

"Shut up," Kat hissed.

Jenny extended her hand and grinned at Cameron. "Nice to meet you."

"And you," Cameron replied. "Kat talks about you a lot."

"It's all lies. I promise," Jenny joked.

Cameron laughed. "Ha. I'm sure." Cameron turned her attention back to Kat and Remy. "So…I believe that I'm owed an explanation?"

Kat and Remy exchanged a look and did their best to look innocent. "Explanation about what?"

"Oh, I don't know. How about why Kat was in bed with you when I woke you up this morning?" Cameron prompted.

"Well it was Kat's room. She has a right to sleep in her room. Besides, we didn't want to make Jenny sleep on the couch.

Jenny guffawed behind them.

"Right, and the real story then?" Cameron replied skeptically.

Remy grinned and pulled Kat in close to her, kissing her softly.

"Oh my God! It's about frickin' time!" Cameron wrapped them both in a hug.

"Tell me about it!" Jenny agreed.

"So…Details please! Wait…was I interrupting something when I called this morning?" Cameron inquired.

Jenny shook her head disappointedly. "Unfortunately no. I already questioned them this morning. It appears that they actually slept last night."

Cameron laughed. "I'm sure it won't be too long!"

"Excuse me, but we are right here!" Remy pointed out as Kat blushed.

"Right, so as you're right here, tell me how this finally happened," Cameron urged.

"Well, we just finally realized that we liked each other," Kat said simply.

"Umm…Yeah. With a little help from me!" Jenny interjected. "I gave Remy here a good talking to, and she finally made her move. You should've seen it! She just went over to her, dragged her to a corner of the bar, and kissed her. It was awesome!"

"Do you get the feeling that they're almost more excited about this than we are?" Kat asked Remy.

Remy turned to her, caught by her stunning green eyes and felt her heart skip a beat for the hundredth time already that day. She still couldn't believe that it was real. "You sure about that?" she asked, kissing her again.

Kat found herself extremely distracted by Remy. She almost forgot that Jenny and Cameron were in the room. "No, maybe not," she replied in between kisses.

"Aw…You two are adorable," Cameron squealed.

"And hot! Do I need to spray you guys with cold water?" Jenny commented.

Kat and Remy broke apart.

"No. I think we'll manage!" Remy laughed. She glanced around the apartment. "So where's Chase today?"

"The hospital," Cameron replied. "He's working today."

"Ah, fun," Remy replied. "Maybe we should have considered whether or not he was here before we started making out in your living room."

"Give me a little credit. I wouldn't have brought up the possibility of you two having a relationship if he'd been here," Cameron pretended to be offended.

Kat smiled. "Thanks. It's gonna be hard enough to keep this a secret as is. I know it can't be easy keeping a secret from your fiancé."

"It's fine. Don't worry about it. Chase and I don't have to tell each other everything. Besides, it's not my secret to tell. And you're right. If you two act even remotely together, House is going to be on you in a second, endless teasing and criticism and judgment."

"Gee we have a lot to look forward to," Kat said sarcastically.

"Well, you are going to have to be ridiculously deceitful to hide the way you feel about each other. I'm not sure you two should be allowed to look at each other at work. It might give you away," Cameron pointed out.

"What?" Remy's eyes opened wide.

"She's right. When you two look at each other, your feelings are extremely obvious. Not o mention the silly little grins that unconsciously form at the corners of your mouths when you're just thinking about the other one," Jenny added.

Both Kat and Remy suddenly became acutely aware that they had those very same smiles on their faces right now, and they each made put on a straight face as quickly as possible.

"Yeah, good luck keeping that. You two have been grinning wildly all morning. I don't blame you, I'm just saying that people are going to know that something's up," Jenny said.

Kat turned helplessly to Cameron. "So what do we do?"

Cameron shrugged. "I'll do the best I can to draw attention away from you two. Just do your best to act like you're not crazy about each other."

Remy glanced at Kat and felt her grin return. "Easier said than done," she muttered.

"Ok, well, food's getting cold. Come on. In to the other room. It's time to eat!"

"Great! I'm starving!" Jenny bounced away ahead of the others.

Kat and Remy exchanged a look, giggled, and followed after her.


End file.
